Dr. Cyndy Hall is ABAC’s new head of the English and Communications department and aims to get the number of majors up during her stay.
Hall’s long-term goal is a focus on commuters.
“We pull in a lot of students from surrounding counties, and I think that sometimes they get lost in the shuffle,” she said.
However, Tifton locals remain an invaluable piece of ABAC and the WRCM program.
“For the immediate, we’re focusing on the campus and the students already on ABAC,” Hall said.
She went on to say the department’s efforts in the two months since her arrival have been “trying to enlighten the general studies students who aren’t sure what their major is yet, or what their opportunities could be.”
“People have misconceptions about writing and communication,” Hall said. “They think, ‘you can’t do anything with that degree except teach.’ But we have [faculty] doing amazing things with students and creating skills that can get you jobs right away.”
Hall’s biggest fear with the student body is they may not realize the facilities available to writing and communication majors.
“People tend to just go to their classes and don’t look around,” Hall said, “If they’re going to the library, they mostly go to the second floor, and if they go to tutoring, they may not bother to look down the hallway.”
She worries students do not wander into The Stallion’s newsroom, the radio and podcast booths, the post-production media center, and the complete television and broadcasting studio, which are all open to students in and out of communication programs.
When asked if she has experienced any difficulties performing the duties of her position, Hall said, “The budget, but that is always a hurdle wherever you go in academia.” With a touch of hesitation, she added, “and the budget for English and communication in rural areas? It’s even more difficult.”
But how does Hall decide which issues are most important? “The English and communication department doesn’t have as much control or decision-making over that as most people think,” she said. “You have to do what they tell you from top, but people at the bottom are also telling you what they need.” Hall pinpointed this as one of the biggest challenges of her position, saying she has to “make not-so-popular decisions” handed to her and to make them “as palpable as possible.”
While Hall does not believe she has been in her position long enough to have a large impact, she believes that will change when she has finished settling in.
“All of our faculty are stretched beyond what they should be,” she said. “Advising, extracurricular groups, and taking students on trips to study abroad… I don’t think the faculty in the English and communications department get the credit they deserve.”
Hall said her goal when she took over was “to shine a light on what [the department] is doing. It really is remarkable.”
Any student interested in pursuing writing and communication will find a plentiful community of open doors. Hall encourages students to “come ask questions!”
Hall said, “Talk to other students, talk to students who work for The Stallion, talk to students working for Stallion TV.”
She mentioned her experience with various events held on campus, saying, “The students were so… happy. They were having a great time! It was a community, and if we didn’t have this department? That community wouldn’t have anywhere to go.”