A Scholarly Pursuit: The Academic Road to Change

America has entered a time of transition brought upon by the need for change. American Universities, as the breeding ground for future leaders, are part of this change in response to the growth of technology based information, globalization, competition, and calls for accountability. As the world rapidly moves forward, the upcoming years can be the opportunity to restore the faith and image of this country in the world. This task will fall upon recent and upcoming graduates, young people who have the ability to transform and make the difference. Responding to all of this, American universities have started to create new plans and actions that will prepare students for this world they are about to venture into; often times with helpful suggestions from students. Thinking about all of this, in this week’s blog I have decided to look into ways to improve my area of study at the University of Southern California(campus fountain shown above), and how this could serve not only me, but also universities and communities everywhere.

USC is devoted to “the development of human beings and society as a whole through the cultivation and enrichment of the human mind and spirit” stated in the central mission. In response to the upcoming change and challenges, encouraged by organizations like the Association of American Universities, in 2004 USC came up with a new strategic plan to recognize this environment through research and scholarship on critical issues by creating a global presence and impact for that research, scholarship, art, education, and service. To encourage students to contribute to improving the university the Dean of the College of Letters, Arts & Sciences (Dean Peter Starr pictured here) asked students to propose curriculum plans to enrich the academic experience and to “think seriously about learning, be creative and daring, and inspire us.” While my time at USC has been nothing short of exceptional, there are ways in which my academic experience could be more relevant and interesting. My proposal is for the Annenberg School for Communications to open majors up within the school so more courses in communications, journalism, and public relations can cross count towards any of the majors. This is especially true for the communications major where there needs to be more overlap in classes in marketing, journalism, public relations, and film; because these are all very intricately related professions in the real world.

Currently at Annenberg, an undergraduate student can either pursue a major in communications or one in public relations and journalism. While there are a few classes that a student can take from the other major that will count towards their degree, there needs to be more flexibility so that students can study and take classes in all these subjects. At the Annenberg School for Communication, as stated on the website, “you’ll study everything from the foundations of communication theory to where the latest advances will take us tomorrow. You’ll explore social, cultural, rhetorical and organizational communication processes. The result: an understanding of and ability to manage communication in education, politics, management and marketing, in government and nongovernmental institutions alike.” Communications majors learn how to effectively communicate in their personal and professional life as well as how media and politics use these methods to persuade and convey their messages. This awareness is critical to success in any field, so communications when paired with another major like International Relations or Business, works very well, but the major itself seems to lack a practical focus. Instead, the majority of the courses are based in theories and rhetorical studies, while how this information will serve a purpose later in life is left unclear.

If Annenberg (the school shown here) opened up the majors to allow students to take classes in all areas offered at Annenberg including communications, public relations, broadcast and print journalism, and some film and advertising classes, it would function much better than leaving it up to students to learn these connections during internships and on the job. A large portion of communication graduates work in the entertainment media field, which is a place where the connections between journalism, PR, film, and business are vital to success, and failing to teach this at university puts students at a distinct disadvantage. The problem is not that students are not allowed to take these other classes, because it is very easy for an Annenberg student to take any class within the school, but rather a matter of time. While trying to complete either a communications or journalism degree, USC’s required core classes, and possibly a minor, it is difficult to fit in an investigative journalism or print advertising class. This seems odd to me that as a communications student, these are not classes that can apply to my major and instead I find myself forced to take a plethora of research method and rhetorical studies classes that will have no worth after graduation and only provide background knowledge.

Lying in the center of Los Angeles, the heart and soul of the entertainment world, USC and Annenberg (logo shown to the bottom right) should be at the forefront of communications study, which requires more understanding of how various media interact rather than years of theory training. Emerging in a business world where switching jobs multiple times is protocol, having more experience in several fields can only be beneficial. Communications study is more rhetorically based here at USC, but there should be a track that is more practical that takes advantage of the natural resource and teaching ability available in LA. One way to solve this problem of theories versus real life applications would be for there to be two separate communications majors; one which emphasized rhetorical studies and research and one that is more focused on media. While the communications major now does have four tracts available in the upper level classes that include law, entertainment, culture, or interpersonal communications, the classes in these tracts are still more focused on theoretical study. Several schools have two types of communications majors that cater to both the sides discussed above, such as Syracuse University and University of Pennsylvania, two other leading universities in communications study.

Communications is about synergy, the harmonious merging of various forces coming together, and Annenberg as one of the leading universities in communications studies, needs to be the model of this synergistic future. If this university really wants to be the forefront of technology, communication, and scholarship, then instead of only teaching understanding, it needs to teach ability and real skills. For communications this means there needs to be more activities, case studies, and field trips and less lecturing on vague topics and regurgitated information; there needs to be more opportunity to explore all sides of communications and more freedom for students to pick their own tracts of study. The ability for USC (popular campus spots shown left) to fulfill its strategic plan lies on the four capabilities: span disciplinary and school boundaries to concentrate on problems of societal significance, link fundamental to applied research, build networks and partnerships, and increase responsiveness to learners. These wishes can be accomplished in the communication school by modernizing the courses and dealing with the present instead of only studying the past. The future is all about people connecting, professions coming together, and lives merging; I am proposing that the Annenberg School for Communication really starts emphasizing this so it can help shape the great leaders of tomorrow.

Sherry Lansing: A Proper Commencement by a Proper Lady

With spring in bloom and summer fast approaching, an exciting and anxious time looms ahead for graduates. University commencement (the USC ceremony is pictured below) is right , around the corner and so in this post I have decided to put forth a nomination for someone who has achieved great success in my field of entertainment to receive an honorary degree at the University of Southern California. James Freedman, president emeritus of the University of Iowa and Dartmouth College said “In bestowing an honorary degree [of which there is a long tradition in American higher education], a university makes an explicit statement to its students and the world about the qualities of character and attainment it admires most.” He explains that an honorand who will speak at commencement must “celebrate distinguished and sublime achievement.” Many people are very accomplished in the entertainment field, but one individual stands apart because of her stellar success in motion pictures and charitable work. She was this year’s Academy Awards recipient of the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award and my definition of an amazing woman: Sherry Lansing.

At USC degrees are awarded “[t]o honor individuals who have distinguished themselves through extraordinary achievements in scholarship, the professions, or other creative activities, whether or not they are widely known by the general public.” Sherry Lansing was born in 1944 in Chicago, graduated from Northwestern, and began her career in Hollywood as a model and actress appearing in Loving and Rio Lobo in 1970. She soon decided that acting was not her forte and took a job as a script reader that paid five dollars an hour. This unlikely decision turned out to change her life. Thanks to her talent and drive she quickly moved up at MGM from head of the story department all the way to VP of creative affairs. Lansing worked at Columbia as senior VP in charge of production, became the first woman to run a studio at 20th Century Fox in 1980, and then formed her own production company with Stanley Jaffe where they had great success with films like Fatal Attraction and The Accused. In 1992 Lansing was named chairman of the Motion Picture Group at Paramount (pictured here speaking as chairman) becoming the first woman ever to oversee all aspects of studio’s picture production. In twenty short years since coming to Hollywood, Lansing had become the top woman in the entire film world; definitely an extraordinary achievement in her profession and creative activities. As chairman she presided over a “roster of culture-defining films, including Forrest Gump, Titanic and Saving Private Ryan... The studio's long string of successful releases is attributed to Lansing's bottom-line approach … taking fewer risks by sharing costs with outside investors on tentpole releases.”

Lansing was passionate and driven; "If you don't wake up with something in your stomach every day that makes you think, ‘I want to make this movie,’ it'll never get made” she said. Passion is the key to success in whatever someone does and this is a message that needs to be driven home to graduates as well as a quality of “character and attainment” that USC admires and would want to align itself with. Lansing stood behind films she believed in even when “every studio turned [Fatal Attraction] down. Twice,” and persevered against rumors that her rise to the top was attributed to her popularity among men, rather than hard work. Lansing was unfaltering in her judgment and remained professional amidst the rumble and tumble of Hollywood. "This is a woman who focuses on what she's doing with great intensity and understanding," says Motion Picture Academy president Sid Ganis. "Part of why she's been so effective in the work she's doing now is because she… deeply believes in the causes she's involved with and people really respond to that.” This is something graduating students can learn from: the power of conviction. She never let herself be molded into what a traditional studio head would be like and held strong to her femininity, which is one of the reasons she was such a success. Sean Smith commented on this trait in an article entitled “The Goodbye Girl” to which Lansing laughed and replied, “I like to hug people. I don’t hug everybody, but I like contact. Part of being in the movie business is wanting to reach out to people, to connect.” These film achievements are reason enough to honor Lansing with a degree, however it is the second part of her life that makes her the kind of woman graduates could benefit from hearing. Retiring from Hollywood and leaving Paramount in 2005, continuing an already impressive list of charity work, Lansing created and dedicated herself to the Sherry Lansing Foundation (her foundations homepage is shown above), which works to raise funds and awareness for cancer.

Today, as Freedman acknowledges, many honorees are chosen not on the basis of merit but because of donations or monetary accomplishments, yet an honorary degree must be reserved for someone who has something more to share with the graduates, a message that they can carry on with them to whatever the future holds. USC has upheld the integrity of these degrees by choosing past recipients based on merit including Mayor of Los Angeles Antonio Villaraigosa, Neil A. Armstrong, Robert Zemeckis, and John McCain to name a few. These men have all had “sublime achievement” professionally but are also respectable and giving people, something that Lansing also shares. I think it is important when honoring someone that they have achieved more than just business success, but have taken the time to give back to the community and contribute something the world can admire. Lansing not only meets this criteria, but is also spreading the message that philanthropy can be effective without an abundance of money, explaining “it’s about time, intelligence and vision. If you can think of a simple idea and be persistent, you can find someone who can give you access to someone who will fund it or do it.”

Another criteria for possible recipients are those “whose accomplishments might serve to highlight areas in which the university has developed exceptional strength.” Since USC is one of the top film schools in the country and is located in LA, the mecca of the media world, someone from the entertainment industry is a very fitting recipient for USC. Lansing extraordinarily rose to the top of a still very male dominated profession and made films with messages and stories (the popular film Fatal Attraction is pictured above) any aspiring film student would admire. However, while Lansing’s business has been the cinematic arts, I think her honorary doctoral degree would be most fitting in humane letters for outstanding citizenship, which will highlight both her contributions in entertainment and philanthropy.

Graduates face a tough world after leaving the university bubble, especially with growing concerns for this country’s image in the world. Young people need to believe that America can get back on solid ground and recover those beliefs and traditions that once made this country so great. Lansing, having broken so many barriers in her life and realizing the importance of giving back, could inspire young people to get out into the world and make it the place they want it to be. I think Lansing would address the world with hope and optimism telling graduates that you need neither great amounts of money or power to make a difference, only determination, compassion, and understanding. Even with the amazing accomplishments of Lansing’s lifetime, (she is shown here at the 2007 Governors Ball after receiving the Oscar) she was never someone who lived for winning and remembers a favorite night when Fatal Attraction was nominated for six Academy Awards; “We lost every single award, and it wasone of the happiest nights I’ve ever had.” Graduates need to recognize that success cannot always be measured by the end result, but in the battle a person fights to get there. Lansing is a great example of how a person can have professional achievement, keep integrity, and help those in need. Sometimes young people believe they will have to make a decision between making money and doing something that they love or that will make a difference, yet Lansing demonstrates that there can be a balance; “I always thought if I was lucky enough to achieve the dreams I had in the movie business ... that I wanted to give back.”

Inscribed upon Tommy Trojan (pictured to the right) are the ideal qualities for any USC student or member of the Trojan family: faithful, scholarly, skillful, courageous, and ambitious. Sherry Lansing is one of few people who could stand proudly next to Tommy as a shining example of the perfect blend of these qualities. She is an inspiration to many people in the entertainment industry and to me personally, and graduating students would be privileged to have such a fitting honorand.