The department of communication has received the distinction of “Strong Program” by the National Communication Association (NCA) President’s Task Force for the Advocacy of Communication in the Academy. The mission of the NCA Task Force “…is to identify information and resources that will prove useful to communication programs of all types as they advocate for their interests on campus.”

There were several factors that contributed to this recognition, including department affiliation with the professional discipline, faculty teaching and research profiles, presence of a solid general education course (COM 115: Public Speaking) and disciplinary leadership. For many years, the department has made significant contributions to basic communication course innovation, teaching assistant training, peer-reviewed research, national leadership in the communication discipline and civic engagement.