Widely considered to be the nation’s premiere school of mass communication, the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University is engaged in industry partnerships and multimedia curriculum development that prepare students and faculty alike to become leaders in today’s rapidly changing media landscape.
Dean Lorraine Branham, who came to Newhouse in 2008, has led the charge toward stronger industry connections and an emphasis on innovation and entrepreneurship in communications education and practice. Under her leadership, the school established the Center for Digital Media Entrepreneurship and the Peter A. Horvitz Endowed Chair in Journalism Innovation, the latter of which led to the creation of the online Journovation Journal. Most recently, the school partnered with alumnus Jim Weiss to create the W2O Group Center for Social Commerce, looking at the confluence of big data with social, online, digital and mobile media.
The Newhouse School embraces virtually every known form of information dissemination, from print and broadcast journalism to online communication to advertising and public relations to photography and film. The more than 60 faculty members come primarily from the profession, men and women for whom teaching is a top priority. Students are among the best in the nation, having secured a place in the class through a highly competitive admissions process. Upon graduation they become part of a large, loyal and highly accomplished group of alumni—individuals who are literally shaping the future of public communication across the globe.
Notable Newhouse alumni include Bob Costas, sportscaster for NBC and HBO Sports; Dennis Crowley, CEO and co-founder of foursquare; Anne Globe, chief marketing officer for Dreamworks Animation; Jeff Glor, anchor of CBS News’ “The Early Show”; Larry Kramer, president and publisher of USA TODAY; Beth Ann Kaminkow, president and chief executive officer at TracyLocke; Steve Kroft, correspondent with CBS’ “60 Minutes”; Clint Clemens, internationally renowned commercial photographer; Lakshmi Singh, midday newscaster with NPR; and Danny Zuker, co-executive producer of ABC’s “Modern Family.”
The 2007 opening of Newhouse 3—a $31.6 million, 74,000-square-foot addition—enhanced the school’s operations. Now, Newhouse is engaged in a $18 million studio renovation, slated for completion in Fall 2014. The project, which will be funded in part by the support of alumni and friends of the school, will include a comprehensive upgrade to HD, a news room and permanent news studio, production studios and advanced teaching lab spaces.
