Elon University’s School of Communications National Advisory Board recently welcomed eight additional members. The newest contributors will continue to support the board’s goal of developing the communications program and assisting faculty within the department.
According to E-Net, the advisory board's new members exemplify a wide breadth of professional experience, ranging from corporate communications to careers within the government. The board currently consists of 33 carefully selected individuals.
“The advisory board is a group of professionals who we ask to meet with us twice a year and we talk about a variety of industry trends,” said Jessica Gisclair, chair of the School of Communications at Elon University.
The eight new members -- Adele Ambrose, Roger Bolton, Julie Carey, Rich Cervini, Tim Franklink, Claudia Jepsen, Eric Kraus and Michael Tackett -- possess diverse skill sets and perspectives to enhance the exchange of ideas and better contribute to the School of Communications through dialogue. According to board members, the cross-section of viewpoints is beneficial in cultivating an environment where ideas can be generated to support Elon.
“All of our new Communications Advisory Board members are current Elon parents, so they have a real commitment to seeing Elon and the School of Communications become even better and better,” said Paul Parsons, Dean of the School of Communications. “The faculty benefit from the professional insights of board members, and board members create networks and contacts for current students.”
According to current board member Anders Gyllenhaal, the advisory board plays an important role in providing guidance to the School of Communications in the ever-changing, fast-paced media industry. Gyllenhaal currently serves as vice president of news for the McClatchy Company.
“The board is a vehicle for helping the school know more about what is happening in the professions and for understanding the directions of the industry,” Gyllenhaal said.
Julie Carey, a newly appointed member to the board, serves as the NBC4 northern Virginia bureau chief, where she covers news stories developing in Northern Virginia. According to Carey, the position as a board member to indirectly participate in training and shaping future journalists represents an intriguing opportunity.
“I am incredibly honored to be chosen for the board,” Carey said. “I feel strongly about creating a good pipeline for young journalists to get experience. That’s what's exciting to me about it -- being able to work with future journalists, just making sure that students are well prepared for the challenges they face these days being multimedia journalists.”
As spring semester at Elon unfolds, students will be interacting heavily with career services and mentors to receive internship guidance for the upcoming summer.
“If we do a good job, then the school does a good job and the students get the benefits of that,” Gyllenhaal said. “Not all communications schools have this kind of thing.”