INTERVIEWER: Welcome, everyone, to this virtual Campus Walk with the UK College of Communication
and Information Dean, Dr. Jennifer Greer. Thank you so much for joining us today.
JENNIFER GREER: Oh, I'm so happy to be here, and especially right in front of Willy T.
INTERVIEWER: Yeah, exactly. That's a great location on-campus. I know it's a little different.
Obviously, we cannot shoot the campus walk while still kind of holding on to those social
distancing restrictions that everyone is following right now. So we're doing this a little differently
via Zoom. And so just to start us off today having this conversation, tell me, Dean Greer,
why are you so personally passionate about communication and translating that passion
to students? JENNIFER GREER: Well, I will tell you personally
why I'm so passionate about it. Anybody who knows me knows that I like to talk, I like
to listen, I like to get information, and I like to share that. And so my background
is as a journalist, which is one of the majors that we have in our college. And you know,
I was always passionate about finding information, making sure that information was correct,
and sharing it with people. I love to write. I love to talk to people.
I love to figure out the way the world works and help people understand how things fit
together and how we're all connected as a global community. And so that was my role
as a journalist. We have many other majors in our college. But regardless of the major,
translating to students how interconnected we are, how vital communication and information
are in everything that we do, is really just so much fun.
INTERVIEWER: Well, tell me a little bit more about your college. Why are students choosing
the University of Kentucky College of Communication and Information?
JENNIFER GREER: Well, it's pretty interesting about how students choose us. So about one
fourth of the students that we eventually graduate in our college start with us as freshmen.
I think a lot of students find us along the way and realize who we are and what we do,
and they start hearing their classmates. So by the time we graduate, we've just gathered
more and more people that have come to the University of Kentucky because they love the
university, but then find our college and find all the fun things that are going on.
We have five undergraduate majors. We have majors in Journalism, Media Arts and Studies,
Integrated Strategic Communication, Information Communication Technology, and in Communication.
We also have minors and certificate programs in some of those areas. We have Master's Degrees
in Library and Information Science, in Information Communication Technology, and in Communication,
and then we have a PhD in Communication. So we've got programs at all levels. And really,
anything that you're passionate about in the whole wide realm of Communication Information
Media Technology, you can find a home in our college. And so I think one of the things
that attracts students to our college is you can go almost anywhere with our degree.
INTERVIEWER: What are your students like? JENNIFER GREER: Our students are incredibly
curious, they're incredibly driven, they're very passionate, and they're very curious.
So we like to think of our students as innovators. Innovative thinkers, doers, and creators is
how I would describe them. And there is a whole lot of creativity in what we do.
And believe me, it is not easy, but you know we've got a great staff and faculty that will
help students through and give them the support to be successful. You know, we like to think
that we give them the building blocks to be lifelong learners in our college and that
their skill sets that they get out of our classes and out of our majors will help them
succeed in whatever they want to do. INTERVIEWER: I know that there is so much
research that goes on within the college. Tell me a little bit more about that. I know
your faculty and staff are busy trying to make all these new discoveries in so many
different areas. JENNIFER GREER: Yes. And it's, again, one
of those things that people, when they think of research, they think maybe medical schools.
And obviously, there's a ton of medical research going on, but there is a ton of research going
on in our college. I'll just give you a couple of examples.
The major opioid grant that the University of Kentucky is a part of, we have two of our
health communication scholars that are major investigators in that project for the state
of Kentucky. We've got somebody who got a National Science Foundation Rapid Reward grant
for COVID-19 research, looking at how we communicate about the risk of a disease like COVID-19--
or a virus like COVID-19. And she was the first person in the university to get one
of those NSF Rapid Research grants that came out of our college about communicating the
risk. We've got faculty-- I love-- every month,
we have a faculty research presentation. And I go every month because I just am so fascinated
by what our faculty are studying. So our faculty are just-- they're so brilliant, and I'm so
proud of them. And just every time I see their research, it blows me away how innovative,
and incredible, and impactful the research is.
INTERVIEWER: As you wrap up your first year here at UK, what's your vision for the college
as you look towards its future? JENNIFER GREER: Well, it's interesting. One
of the very first things that we did when I came in and when I talked to Provost Blackwell
about taking this position is I wanted to do a very robust strategic planning initiative
and really think through what the next five years after my first year would be as dean.
And so we started with a listening tour in November. And we got students faculty, staff,
alumni, business partners, people in the community that we work with to come in and just give
us feedback about where they saw the college and where they'd like to see the college go.
We went from that to January, where we had a smaller team of about 40 people that included
students, alumni, faculty, staff, and, again, partners in the community that worked as a
team for the whole spring semester in coming up with, what is our strategic plan going
forward, what is the real mission of the college, and where do we want to go?
And I think the thing that has emerged from that is that we know we want to be very collaborative
not only within the college, but within all parts of the University of Kentucky. And we
also want to let everyone know that even in an environment like this, where the job market
is very tight, there is a profession that will emerge from a major in our college or
a degree from our college. And so our tagline-- I'm kind of unveiling
it here for the first time-- is we turn passions into professions and that if there is something
you're passionate about, there is a path for you to make a living. And we want you to be
passionate about your profession for the rest of your life. And so that's for our students,
but also faculty and staff. We want them to be very passionate about where
they're going, and be lifelong learners, and go out and make us proud, whether that's moving
up at the University of Kentucky or moving on to a great leadership position in another
place-- that we want to be the nurturing environment that helps people grow. So I guess those would
be the two things we really want to work on, is showing people how central we are and letting
people know that this is a place where you can come and grow for the rest of your life.
INTERVIEWER: Well, thank you so much for taking the time to talk with us today. It's great
to hear from you and great to hear about all the awesome things going on in your college.
JENNIFER GREER: Yeah, I'm really proud of this college, as you can tell. Like, you know--
and you know I like to talk. I like to communicate, so I'm in the right college. So thank you
for having me, Amy, this has been wonderful. INTERVIEWER: Absolutely. And if you would
like more information about the College of Communication and Information, just visit
the link on your screen.