Administration

Scott M. Hayes, B.F.A., M.F.A., Ph.D.
Dean, School of Communication & the Arts
Professor of Theatre Arts

Kevin L. Rawls, B.S., M.A.R., M.B.A., Ph.D.
Associate Dean, School of Communication & the Arts

Program Directors

A listing of program directors can be viewed on the Program Director webpage.

Research Intensive Courses

All research intensive courses are listed online on the Center for Research & Scholarship QEP Overview webpage.

Purpose

The School of Communication and the Arts has five career-focused departments that provide hands-on learning and networking opportunities to enhance student skills to succeed, professionally, in today’s job market.

Purpose

Cinema is a broad-reaching form of communication, and the purpose of the Cinematic Arts – Zaki Gordon Center is to glorify God by reflecting the truths of Scripture through cinema.  The Cinematic Arts – Zaki Gordon Center at Liberty University is distinctive because of its approach in training the next generation of filmmakers in a Christ-focused environment. Dr. Jerry Falwell coined “Saturation Evangelism” as the ability to reach every available person through every available means. Liberty University’s Cinematic Arts – Zaki Gordon Center supports the scope of that mission.

Purpose

The purpose of the Department of Digital Media and Journalism is to produce redemptive storytellers as communication professionals who are equipped with specific skills in videography, editing, audio production, on-air performance, and digital content and journalistic writing – all expressed through a multitude of genres and based on a Christ-centered perspective that governs everything undertaken in the field. Studying in Digital Media and Journalism will prepare students for a worldwide market to:

1. Use professional skills with great integrity as an expression of high moral and ethical values in storytelling.
2. Possess both theoretical and historical understanding of Digital Media and Journalism.
3. Make first-hand, practical application of knowledge in professional and personal contexts as a communicator in the field of Digital Media and Journalism.

Purpose

The purpose of the Department of Strategic and Personal Communication is to develop and equip communication professionals with essential knowledge of the discipline and a Christ-centered approach to the marketplace. Our programs prepare students to:

1. Integrate theory and practice into the planning and execution of communication for all marketplace contexts.
2. Develop an understanding of fundamental communication frameworks that integrate complex relationships and constructive content in real-world settings.
3. Cultivate strategic competence for all levels of corporate, social and non-profit communication.

Lambda Pi Eta Honor Society

Lambda Pi Eta (LPH) is the National Communication Association’s official honor society at four-year colleges and universities. As an accredited member of the Association of College Honor Societies (ACHS), Lambda Pi Eta has active chapters at four-year colleges and universities worldwide. LPH represents what Aristotle described in The Rhetoric as three ingredients of persuasion: logos (Lambda), meaning logic; pathos (Pi), relating to emotion; and ethos (Eta), defined as character credibility and ethics. Lambda Pi Eta recognizes, fosters, and rewards outstanding scholastic achievement while stimulating interest in the communication discipline.

To be eligible for admission, undergraduate students must meet the following criteria:

1. Complete 60 semester credit-hours (90 quarter credit-hours)
2. Have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.00 for all courses taken
3. Complete the equivalent of 12 semester credit-hours (18 quarter credit-hours) in communication studies
4. Have a minimum GPA of 3.25 for all communication studies courses
5. Currently be enrolled as a student in good standing, as determined by the institution's policies
6. Rank within the highest thirty-five percent of one’s class in general scholarship

Clubs

• Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA)
• AD Team (American Advertising Federation)
• Forensics

Purpose

The purpose of the Department of Studio & Digital Arts is to produce visual artists, graphic designers, and art educators rooted in a Christ-centered perspective that governs every decision, action, and work of art they undertake in the field of visual art.

Kappa Pi Art Honor Society

Kappa Pi – Zeta Chi Chapter promotes artistic excellence at the collegiate level. The purpose of this fraternity will be to form bodies of representative students who will, by their influence and artistic interest, uphold the highest ideals of a liberal education; to provide a means whereby students with artistic commitment meet for the purpose of informal study and communication; to raise the standards of productive artist work among students in the college and universities; to furnish the highest reward for conscientious effort in furthering the best interest of art in the broadest sense of the term, by election to membership in the Fraternity, based upon such meritorious work.

Membership Criteria

• B average in art courses

Purpose

The Department of Theatre Arts provides instruction in the theory and practice of theatre performance and production, in order to prepare students for professional stage careers, for graduate study in theatre arts, and for a life of growing appreciation for the theatre and dramatic art. Central to the departmental purpose is the development of observant, sensitive theatrical artists, who, with their skills, training, knowledge, and professional attitudes, may glorify Christ in the world through the practice of their craft and the testimony of their lives.

Program Requirements

1. Students must receive a “C” or better in all THEA classes.
2. BFA students will be required to pass the BFA Entrance Audition.
3. See the Department of Theatre Arts Student Handbook for more information.

Alpha Psi Omega Honor Society

Alpha Psi Omega is dedicated to recognizing and encouraging excellence in the study of theatre arts. Chapter activities provide members with opportunities for sharing and advancing their professional interests. Lectures and field trips are designed to awaken theatrical interest, and to promote interaction between students and faculty and amongst other theatre professionals.

Criteria for membership: An undergraduate student must have completed at least 15 semester hours in theatre arts (excluding performance/production credits) with a grade in all theatre courses averaging at least a 3.5 and must have a general average of at least a 3.25 in all classes. Candidates must have participated in at least six main stage productions and be in good ethical standing with the University. All inductees must be voted into the society by a majority of the Liberty University Department of Theatre Arts faculty and staff.