Update From U.S. Army War College

I just started the third week of my new visiting professor job at the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle, PA. It's been an enlightening and invigorating experience so far. The students that I work with in class are incredible. This is the largest class of its kind in U.S. Army War College history (368 students, including 67 international fellows from 66 countries). Students, all senior officers and civilian leaders being groomed for command positions, are are among roughly 2% of their peers selected to attend this program. Many of the Army and Marine officers have experienced multiple combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. Some already have their master's degrees and a few even have doctorates. Here's a breakdown of this year's class: 

Military Service Representation: Officers typically have approximately 20 years of service and have reached the rank of lieutenant colonel, colonel, or the equivalent rank depending on the military branch.

• U.S. Army: 210 active, Reserve, and Guard officers
• U.S. Air Force: 32 Air Force active, Reserve, and Guard officers
• U.S. Navy: 15 active and Reserve officers
• U.S. Marines: 18 active and Reserve officers
• U.S. Coast Guard: 1 active officer

Senior Civilian Representation: 25 high-ranking civilians from 

• Defense Department
• Defense Intelligence Agency
• Department of the Army
• Department of State
• National Security Agency
• Department of Homeland Security
• Veterans’Administration

International Fellows Representation: 67 senior officers from Afghanistan, Algeria, Australia, Bangladesh, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burundi, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Germany, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Korea, Kuwait, Lebanon, Lithuania, Macedonia, Malawi, Malaysia, Mali, Mexico, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Nepal, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Norway, Pakistan (2), the Philippines, Poland, Romania, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Sweden, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, Uganda, Ukraine, the United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Yemen and Zambia.

Students will graduate on June 9, 2012, with a master of strategic studies degree and a U.S. Army War College diploma.

I'm also thrilled to be supporting the mission of the U.S. Army War College with my work in strategic communication management. The name of the college is somewhat of a misnomer. No, the college isn't in the business of making war. In fact, Elihu Root, the U.S. Secretary of War under President Theodore Roosevelt who established the U.S. Army War College described its mission as:

"Not to promote war, but to preserve peace by intelligent and adequate preparation to repel aggression...to study and confer on the great problems of national defense, of military science, and of responsible command."

Here is today's U.S. Army War College mission:

"The Army War College develops, inspires and serves strategic leaders for the wise and effective application of national power in a joint, interagency, intergovernmental, and multinational environment, emphasizing development and employment of land power. The USAWC is accredited by the Commission on Higher Education of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools."


Seminar 14 students in action during Boat Yard Wars

I'll comment on my work in the Center for Strategic Leadership later. I'll close this post with a slide show depicting some of the fun had by students, faculty and staff during the first week of orientation for the new class. Some of the photos depict teams of students building boats out of cardboard and duct tape, and racing them against each other in the annual "Boat Yard Wars" picnic ice-breaker family picnic. Who says military officers don't know how to let their hair down (note the buzz cuts, though) and have fun!

Volunteers Needed For PR Project -- Non-Profit in Poughkeepsie, NY

Eddie Summers, presidential fellow for Marist College President Dennis Murray, has offered announced an opportunity for any faculty members or students who would like to complete a capstone or other class project in support of a very deserving non-profit organization in Poughkeepsie, NY.

Eddie, who recently became president of the board of directors for the Catharine Street Community Center in Poughkeepsie, wants to promote awareness of the center’s 90th anniversary in 2012. The center (http://www.catharinecenter.org/) is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to promote and coordinate educational, health, and cultural programming that enriches and enhances the lives of individuals, children, and families. The organization provides an array of programs for the community ranging from after-school programs, a boys choir, pre-k, ESL, medical and case management, to name a few.

In conjunction with the anniversary, Eddie and the center’s board would like to arrange a number of programs, events, activities throughout 2012 that will lead up to a 90th anniversary celebration event in August 2012. The center is even thinking of creating a video charting the history of the organization.

If you or anyone you know might be interested in pursuing this opportunity, please contact Eddie, edward.summers@marist.edu.

My Assignment to U.S. Army War College, 2011-12

Well, it’s official. I am currently on a leave of absence from Marist College, serving as the 2011-2012 Visiting Professor of Strategic Communication at the U.S. Army’s Center for Strategic Leadership, located at the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle, PA.

I begin my new assignment on August 1. I am scheduled to return to Marist for the fall 2012 semester. Plans for my leave of absence and move to the War College have been in the works since last spring. However, the screening and selection process for this assignment took months to complete and the ink didn’t dry on the agreement to serve at the War College until a few days ago.

First, thanks to my colleagues at Marist who will be covering my responsibilities during my absence. Your support allows me to take advantage of this wonderful opportunity. Second, to my students and academic advisees, I regret not having the chance to work with you next year, but the opportunity to teach at the U.S. Army War College was too good to pass up.

Participants in International Strategic
Crisis Negotiation Exercise

Established in 1901, the U.S. Army War College is one our nation’s premier institutes of higher education. It awards master’s degrees to graduates and prepares hand-picked military and civilian officials from the United States and dozens of other countries for responsibilities of strategic leadership in a variety of agencies and political-military situations. The facilities there are absolutely amazing – truly state of the art. I will be teaching, researching, organizing and attending workshops, and establishing collaborative relationships with public relations and marketing executives in the private sector to explore new approaches to strategic – or integrated – communication.

Root Hall, U.S. Army War College

I am particularly excited about the chance to work with War College scholars, active duty military officers, and international fellows from around the world to develop new concepts and applications of strategic (e.g., integrated) communication. According to the Deputy Commandant of the U.S. Army War College, my duties will involve “preparing strategic leaders in their understanding of potential applications of information as an element of national power, both in peace and war, with focus on the cognitive dimension of the information environment.” If you have any interests or ideas that might be worth pursuing along these lines, please contact me.

I will continue to maintain my presence on social media and I will monitor e-mail to mark.vandyke@marist.edu. My new office address at the War College will be Center for Strategic Leadership, 650 Wright Avenue, Carlisle, PA 17013; (717) 245-3672, mark.vandyke2@us.army.mil. If you happen to be in the Harrisburg/Carlisle, PA, area look me up!

U.S. Department of Education Proposes Changes to FERPA (Federal Education Rights and Privacy Act)

I don't know if you followed this, but this spring the U.S. Department of Education proposed changes to regulations in the Federal Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). The deadline for public comment has already passed, but click here to review the proposed changes, published in the Federal Register. For a more "reader-friendly" version of the proposed changes, click here for the ED.gov version.

Here is a brief summary of rationale provided by the Department of Education for the proposed changes, quoted from the Federal Register:

• "We propose to amend § 99.3 to add a definition of the term authorized representative. Under the proposed definition, an authorized representative would mean any entity or individual designated by a State or local educational authority or agency headed by an official listed in § 99.31(a)(3) to conduct—with respect to Federal or State supported education programs—any audit, evaluation, or compliance or enforcement activity in connection with Federal legal requirements that relate to those programs."

• We also would amend § 99.35 to require written agreements between a State or local educational authority or agency headed by an official listed in § 99.31(a)(3) and its authorized representative, other than an employee (see proposed § 99.35(a)(3)). 

• Finally, proposed § 99.35(d) would clarify that if the Department's Family Policy Compliance Office (FPCO) finds that a State or local educational authority, an agency headed by an official listed in § 99.31(a)(3), or an authorized representative of a State or local educational authority or agency headed by an official listed in § 99.31(a)(3) improperly rediscloses PII in violation of FERPA, the educational agency or institution from which the PII originated would be prohibited from permitting the entity responsible for the improper redisclosure (i.e., the authorized representative, or the State or local educational authority or the agency headed by an officials listed in § 99.31(a)(3), or both) access to the PII for at least five years (see 20 U.S.C. 1232g(b)(4)(B) and § 99.33(e)).

The proposed changes to FERPA regulations are part of a series of U.S. Department of Education initiatives to safeguard student privacy while creating a more flexible arrangement among states for sharing educational information. Here are the other initiatives, as described in a Department of Education press release issued on April 7, 2011:

• Hiring a new Chief Privacy Officer to serve as the "senior advisor to the secretary on all of the Department's policies and programs related to privacy, confidentiality and data security."

• Establishment of the Privacy Technical Assistance Center (under the National Center for Educational Statistics) to ""serve as a one-stop resource for the P-20 education community on privacy, confidentiality, and data security."

• Release of technical briefs featuring best practices, from the National Center for Educational Statistics. Click here to read the first three briefs.

According to the Department of Education's April 7 press release these initiatives are designed "to safeguard student privacy while clarifying that states have the flexibility to share school data that are necessary to judge the effectiveness of government investments in education." However, some critics claim that the proposed changes to FERPA actually loosen definitions of terms like "authorized representatives" and ease restrictions on sharing protected information, which could endanger the privacy of students.

 I am gratified to see increasing attention given to the need to update FERPA regulations to address the increasingly important impacts of emerging technologies (e.g., social media, cloud computing) on communication among students and faculty members. We need to protect student privacy, first and foremost, while also adapting to new and more open forms of communication. For more about this conversation, check out this useful resource on the Catholic University of America's website and read through the resources on education and cloud computing, social networks, apps, etc.

It would be in the best interests of students, families, institutions, and educators alike to follow action on these proposed changes and engage as necessary.

Regards,
Mark

Communication & Media Arts Present Annual Senior Awards

Congratulations to the Class of 2011's select group of communication majors honored on Friday, May 20, during the annual Marist College Baccalaureate and Communication and Media Arts Senior Award ceremonies.

David Amrani
School of Communication and The Arts
Baccalaureate Recipient

During a campus-wide ceremony in the Marist Chapel, President Dennis Murray awarded David Amrani the School of Communication and the Arts Baccalaureate award for special achievement in academic and community affairs. David, who earned an overall grade-point average of 3.96, will graduate with a concentration in advertising and minors in writing and information technology.

During his four years at Marist, David has been an active contributor to campus communication outlets like the student-produced My575 news site; he has served the Marist community as a Marist Library student assistant; and he has represented Marist as a national-caliber fencer (foil). He plans to pursue a master's degree in communication following graduation as he prepares for a career in political communication and campaign strategy.

During another ceremony, held in the Lowell Thomas Center, seven graduating communication majors received annual School of Communication and the Arts Excellence Awards. The awards honor the top seniors in each of the seven academic concentrations comprising the Department of Communication and the Department of Media Arts. Recipients of these awards, who are selected by faculty members from both departments, best exemplify excellence in education through overall academic performance and accomplishments in student activities, athletics, internships, service to the community, professional and scholarly conferences, and other extracurricular activities.

The School of Communication and the Arts Dean Steven Ralston and Assistant Dean Missy Alexander presided over the ceremony, congratulated the recipients, and acknowledged the important contributions of  their families and friends. Faculty members from each of the Department of Communication and the Department of Media Arts presented the Excellence Awards to the following honorees.

Advertising: Stephen Gariepy
Communication Studies: Sarah Parsloe
Interactive Media/Game Studies: Brian McMillan
Journalism: Jacel Egan
Public Relations/Organizational Communication: Sabrina Clark
Radio/TV/Film: Laura Veltre
Sports Communication: Allison Burke

I was proud to present the Excellence Award in Public Relations/Organizational Communication to Sabrina Clark. Sabrina earned an overall 3.8 grade-point average while completing a double major in communication and Spanish with a minor in business. During her four years at Marist, she was active in student activities, including the Marist Red Foxes Chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA). As the chapter's vice president in her junior year and president in her senior year, Sabrina increased active membership by leading the development of programs like the chapter's annual leadership forum and its new student-run public relations firm, Northroad Communications. Sabrina also served as the first president of the new Marist Student Entrepreneur Network (MSEN).

Sabrina Clark
Excellence Award
in Public Relations
Recipient

Sabrina also served as a public relations consultant to clients in Marist's new business incubator, which works with local firms and start-up businesses to apply technology for economic growth and new job creation. Sabrina has already accepted a full-time position as public relations and marketing coordinator for VisionScape Interactive, LLC, a new firm based in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., that uses innovative 3D gaming technology to help clients create interactive replicas of property, landscape and home-improvement projects in minutes.

Dr. Mark Van Dyke with Sabrina Clark
2011 Senior Awards Ceremony

Congratulations to all senior award recipients -- you make us proud to be a Red Fox!

Marist Associate Professor Stephen Croucher Publishes Second Book

Congratulations to my colleague Dr. Stephen Croucher on publication of his second book by Hampton Press, based in New York City. Release of the book, “Religious Misperceptions: The Case of Muslims and Christians in France and Britain,” couldn't be more timely. It explores how misperceptions between Muslims and Christians in France and Britain perpetuate interpersonal and societal conflicts.

In its review of the book, Hampton Press stressed the relevance of “Religious Perceptions” to contemporary conflicts like those currently occurring around the world. Hampton observed on the book’s website, “In the wake of numerous historical and current geopolitical, social and economic events/tragedies, misunderstandings have emerged and proliferated about Islam and Christianity.” Hampton also credited the book with helping to address misconceptions that have been created by “inadequate media coverage, lack of interpersonal understanding/knowledge, and deep-seeded prejudices.”

Dr. Croucher, a faculty member in Marist’s School of Communication and the Arts, authored the book in conjunction with Dr. Daniel Cronn-Mills, a professor and distinguished faculty scholar in the Department of Communication Studies at Minnesota State University. Dr. Croucher and Dr. Cronn-Mills used in-depth interviews and statistical analysis to examine how Muslims and Christians expressed their experiences dealing with various types of conflicts.

Describing some of the findings published in the book, Dr. Croucher reported, “Christians explain how they perceive Islam changing Europe, and how this is something Christian Europe should resist. Muslims on the other hand, see Europe as an unwelcoming home that expects them to change and become European but does not understand or respect their faith or heritage.” He added, “As conflicts linked to religious differences continue to grow and affect world affairs, this book offers analysis and solutions to religious misperceptions.”

Dr. Stephen Croucher

This is Croucher’s second book on religion and communication, specifically Islam. His first book, also published by Hampton Press, “Looking Beyond the Hijab,” was published in 2008. It analyzed the effects of the 2004 ban on the wearing of religious symbols in French public schools on Muslim-Christian relations in France. His third book, “Religion and Communication: An Anthology of Extensions in Theory, Research and Method,” is scheduled for publication in 2012 by Peter Lang Publishers.

Congratulations, again, to Stephen and to his colleague Daniel Cronn-Mills.

New Marist Public Relations Curriculum Approved By College Faculty

The Marist College faculty overwhelmingly approved a new public relations curriculum for the School of Communication and the Arts communication major and minor during the spring semester's last Plenary meeting on Wednesday, May 4. Pending approval by the Marist College Board of Trustees and New York State's Education Department, the new public relations program will be offered to students entering Marist as early as fall 2012.

The faculty vote represents a major milestone in the College's public relations program, one of the most popular academic concentrations on campus. The last revision to the public relations curriculum occurred in 1997, when the program instituted the current curriculum. The curriculum was not offered as part of the communication major until 1989, and has only undergone two revisions (including the 1997 change) since then. Prior to 1981, when the communication major was established, communication courses were offered through the English and Communication Arts program at Marist. 

The new curriculum (see diagram, below) includes significant changes to existing courses, the addition of new courses, and the offering of two separate specializations: public relations management and integrated communication. These changes will help graduates meet the demanding requirements of a rapidly evolving public relations profession; and is expected to position Marist's public relations program among the top in the Northeast and perhaps the nation. 

Four Marist communication faculty members, led by Department of Communication Chair Dr. Keith Strudler, served on the academic committee that prepared the public relations proposal: Associate Professor James Fahey (Retired), Dr. Audra Diers, Professional Lecturer Jennie Donohue, and Dr. Mark A. Van Dyke (Chair). 

For more information about the new program, go to http://bit.ly/m0cRIf.

Pending approval by the Marist Board of Trustees and the
New York State Education Department, the proposed curriculum
is expected to be offered to students entering Marist beginning in fall 2012.