“This is a creative space,” explains Karen Head director of the Communication Center. “We are coaching students in processes, strategies and techniques, but we are also providing the space and equipment needed to practice.”

The Communication Center, located in suite 447 of the Clough Undergraduate Learning Commons, includes meeting areas, computer workstations and rehearsal studios. Each area is designed for different types of work or project phases, with faculty available to advise students each step of the way.

“We intend this to be a safe place for students to experiment and take risks, without the pressure of assignment deadlines and grades,” said Head.

The Center’s staff of Brittain Fellows from the School of Literature, Communication and Culture focuses on what it calls WOVEN communication — written, oral, visual, electronic and non-verbal. Faculty provide coaching in strategies and performance, guidance in brainstorming and collaborative planning, and individual and small group tutoring. The Center is one of few in the country that is run by tenure-track faculty. It is equipped to take students from conception to completion of a project, enabling them to draft, edit, revise and compose written or other types of work all in one room.

Head notes that the Center is not a fix-it shop, in that students should not expect to drop off work and pick it up corrected, but the staff works with students at all levels to help them become better communicators. “Celebrity” tutors from around campus will also assist in that effort, the first of which was President G. P. “Bud” Peterson at the Center’s grand opening on Sept. 28.

The Center is currently open to all undergraduate and graduate students, with the goal of also eventually serving faculty and staff. For now, the Center's staff is willing to partner with faculty on projects brought in my students.

"Helping students is much easier if we understand completely what a faculty member expects. We are also available to help faculty consider ways to include communication projects in their courses," Head said.

Students are encouraged to stop by or make an appointment during the Center’s hours of operation.