MISSION, VISION, CORE VALUES

Our Mission

The John H. Johnson School of Communications provides an excellent research and professional education to equip students with the knowledge and skills needed to process symbols for creating, analyzing, and disseminating messages. We focus on communication policies affecting underserved and underrepresented populations in this country and abroad. Practicum experiences prepare students to work in industry as well as in clinics for speech and hearing disabilities.

Our Vision

The John H. Johnson School of Communications is a multidisciplinary school committed to being a professional and research center of the first rank. We prepare students for leadership in a changing, technology-driven and communication-focused society. We seek to establish and maintain institutional linkages both nationally and internationally which extend and strengthen the visibility and impact of the School across the professional and academic community. Consistent with the historical and steadfast mission of Howard University, the School shall act to promote liberation from social injustice, including institutional racism, in the United States and abroad.

Our Core Values

In addition to those core values embraced by the University, the John H. Johnson School of Communications is committed to excellence in all aspects of our professional and academic life. Both in principle and in practice, we are committed to respect for and elevation of the inherent dignity of all human beings. In this regard, we value and commit ourselves to a life of human service and to the maintenance of the highest ideals of ethical integrity.

DEPARTMENTS AND MAJOR SEQUENCES   Details »

Department of Communication and Culture

Legal Communication (B.A.)
Speech Communication (B.A.)
Intercultural Communication (M.A. & Ph.D.)
Organizational Communication (M.A. & Ph.D.)
Mass Communication (M.A. & Ph.D.)

Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders

Communication Sciences (B.S.)
Speech Pathology (M.S.)
Audiology (M.S.)
Communication Sciences (Ph.D.)

Department of Journalism (B.A.)

Advertising
Broadcast News
News Editorial
Public Relations

Department of Radio, Television, and Film

Film (M.F.A.)
Film Production (B.A.)
Radio Production (B.A.)
Telecommunications Management (B.A.)
Television Production (B.A.)

HIGHLIGHTS IN THE HISTORY OF THE JOHN H. JOHNSON SCHOOL OF COMMUNICATIONS

• Founded in 1971 to educate and train qualified African Americans and people of color for careers in communications.
• Tony Brown, host of Tony Brown's Journal, became first dean of the School of Communications (1971-1974).
• Lionel Barrow, became dean of the School of Communications, 1975-1985.
• Newsweek editor and author of The Choice, Sam Yette, served on School of Communications faculty, 1973-1987.
• New York Times Correspondent Isabel Wilkerson (Journalism 1983) won a Pulitzer Prize.
• Orlando L. Taylor, became dean of the School of Communications, 1985-1993.
• Olaniyi Areke (Lecturer, Radio, Television, and Film) won an Emmy Award for his documentary Descendants (1988).
• Jannette L. Dates, became dean of the School of Communications, 1993-present.
• Haile Gerima (Professor, Radio, Television, and Film) produced a highly acclaimed film, Sankofa. (1993).
• Intercultural Communication (Communication and Culture) ranked third in the nation among Ph.D. granting institutions by the Speech Communication Association (1996).
• Delbert Baker (Ph.D., Communication and Culture) became President of Oakwood College (Huntsville, AL) (1997).
• Sonja Williams (Associate Professor, Radio, Television, and Film) became a three-time winner of the coveted "Peabody Award" for radio production (1999, 2000, 2001).
• Michael Tucker (Assistant Professor, Journalism) two-time Emmy Award winner.
• First-place and second-place national championships won in Mock Trial Debate by Martin Luther King, Jr. Forensics Team, coached by Professor Debyii Thomas (Communication and Culture) (1997).
• William Shija (Ph.D., Communication and Culture, 1988) served his country, Tanzania, in four ministerial posts. He is currently Minister of Science, Technology and Higher Education (1997).
• Orlando L. Taylor (Communication Sciences and Disorders), current Dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, became the first African American president of the National Communication Association, 1999.
• Jannette L. Dates (Radio, Television & Film), current dean of the School of Communications, became the first African American president of the Broadcast Education Association, 2001.
• Jannette L. Dates became president of the Association of Education in Journalism & Mass Communication, 2003.
• On September 26, 2003, Howard University named the School The John H. Johnson School of Communications at Howard University. See Opening Convocation