Moody College of Communication
Moody College of Communication
Main page
1530190

Moody College of Communication

logo
Community Hub0 subscribers
What are your thoughts?
Be the first to start a discussion here.
Be the first to start a discussion here.
Moody College of Communication

The Moody College of Communication is the communication college at The University of Texas at Austin. The Moody College of Communication operates out of the Jesse H. Jones Communication Complex and the Dealey Center for New Media, which opened in November 2012.

The Department of Public Speaking, now the Department of Communication Studies, at UT Austin was established in 1899, and the School of Journalism began in 1914, moving into its own building in 1952. An early interest in broadcasting on campus resulted in the formation of the Department of Radio-Television-Film. In 1921, a radio station was established to conduct experimental work in radio communication, and by the 1930s what was probably the first television broadcast in Texas originated on the campus. The first degree program in broadcasting began in 1939. Established in 1941 with the founding of The University of Texas at Austin Speech and Hearing Clinic and the introduction of coursework leading to Texas Education Agency certification, the program of Communication Sciences and Disorders is the oldest program of its kind in the state of Texas.

In 1965, the School of Journalism, the Department of Speech, and a newly formed Department of Radio-Television-Film became the three departments officially organized as the School of Communication. DeWitt Carter Reddick was appointed to be the school's first dean. In that same year, the accredited sequence of advertising in the Department of Journalism was established as a separate Department of Advertising. Originally housed in the Department of Speech Communication, a separate Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders was established in 1998.

In the 1990s and early 2000s, Austin had become a filmmaking hub due in part to several Communications alumni including Robert Rodriguez and leading many people in the industry to begin calling Austin the "Third Coast" for film. This has spurred the Radio-Television-Film department on to national recognition, while also giving students more opportunities for internships and jobs after matriculation.

On November 7, 2013, the Moody Foundation of Galveston announced a $50 million commitment to establish the Moody College of Communication at The University of Texas at Austin, resulting in the largest endowment for the study of communication of any public university in the nation.

The campus of the Moody College of Communication sits in a complex on the north west side of UT's campus, adjacent to The Drag and just north of the Littlefield House. There was no formal definition of the Moody Communication campus until all communication's studies were consolidated in the late 1960s. Construction of a three-building communication complex began in 1968, and the three Departments of Journalism, Radio-Television-Film and Speech Communication moved into new facilities in 1974.

In 2007, the first new construction project for the school in over 30 years was announced after a $15 million donation from the Belo Foundation: the Belo Center for New Media augmented teaching and research space for the college with a new building on the north side of Dean Keeton Street. Construction began in May 2010, and the new Belo Center was dedicated in November 2012. The five-story, 120,000-square-foot building serves as an interactive learning space for students and a landmark gateway to campus at the intersection of Guadalupe and Dean Keeton Streets. The total project budget was $54.770 million. In June 2021, the Belo Center was renamed the G. B. Dealey Center for New Media in honor of George Bannerman Dealey. The Dealey Center is home to the KUT Public Media Studios, which houses the public radio stations KUT and KUTX.

The Texas Student Media building, formerly known as the CMC building, was officially renamed the William Randolph Hearst Building after a significant donation from the Hearst Corporation in 2008. Texas Student Television, the FCC-licensed student television station located within the Hearst Building, K29HW-D, received an $80,000 digital transmitter retrofit to comply with the mandated digital television transition in 2009.[citation needed]

See all
User Avatar
No comments yet.