UNC's journalism school celebrated its new name on Friday with a light show across the front of Carroll Hall, a disc jockey and cake.
Students, teachers and alumni in the newly labeled School of Media and Journalism gathered in Carroll Hall to discuss the school's 65-year history and its future.
“The business is changing, the demand for higher education teaching is changing, and we wanted a name that really reflected our commitment to the changes,” Susan King, dean of the journalism school, said.
The name change was proposed in August 2014 and then voted on by the staff and approved by the Board of Trustees.
According to the school’s mission statement, the new name reflects "the school’s evolution into a modern, innovative media school."
“I’ve been here three years, and sometimes (the industry) changes so fast, I’m surprised it wasn’t like that three years ago,” King said. “But I think the students are more adept to the changes more than anyone else. Each class that comes here to the school is more digitally savvy than the class before.”
Andy Bechtel, a professor of editing and writing, said he has seen the journalism industry change in his 10 years at UNC.
“Ten years ago, we weren’t talking about social media or Twitter, but it’s a big part of the class now,” he said. “Technology has changed a lot about how we teach. But I think the same principles apply to journalism like accuracy, storytelling and being watchdogs — all of that is still intact regardless of our name change.”
The celebration started with a seminar in which four journalism school alumni spoke about their experiences in the school and how it led to their careers.
