Friends of C&J  
University of New Mexico
UNM
UNM Lobo

Department of Communication & Journalism


A welcome to alumni and friends of C&J
from the department's chair, Glenda R. Balas

Thank you for giving me this opportunity to welcome you to the Department of Communication and Journalism development pages. The fact that you linked to these pages indicates you have an interest in learning how you can help support C&J's education mission. I feel privileged to have been elected by my fellow faculty members for the chairmanship of this great department. I will do my best to build both its reputation and performance, but we all need your help, too.

I'd like to take a moment to describe our educational and research mission. At the undergraduate level, our purpose is to educate the diversity of students from New Mexico in the areas of communication (including intercultural, interpersonal, public, and organizational), mass communication (strategic communication), and journalism (multimedia journalism). We recognize that students come from culturally diverse backgrounds with various academic experiences and we aim to teach them and prepare for professional careers in their respective areas, as well as graduate school. Equally as important, we aim to provide students opportunities that meet their needs and the needs of their communities.

At the graduate level, our research mission is to be a highly ranked doctoral granting program as well as conduct research that meets the needs of the citizens of New Mexico. Our graduate research program focuses on three areas of scholarship under the rubric of "The Institute for Communication, Culture, and Change." We center our research mission around intercultural, health, and mass communication. We currently have one of the top programs in intercultural communication in the nation and have an international reputation. This area emphasizes research that bridges cultural differences and increases understanding of different cultures. We also emphasize research about health problems and disparities in the state of New Mexico as well as understanding media and how it is created and shapes our lives. We examine the intersections of each of these three areas in unique ways to understand how culture, health, and media come together. We believe these are critical issues for New Mexico, the United States, and the world.

We hope that you will find this mission as exciting as we do and will consider supporting one or more of our programs. If you follow the links at the top left of the page, you will be able to find information about the department's needs, how to give, endowments, and corporate giving.

If you want a more personal presentation, you are welcome to visit the department, call me at 505-277-1905, or e-mail me .

Best wishes,
Glenda R. Balas
Chair