Silver City, NM- During the fall of 2015, a communication minor was brought to Western New Mexico University. Professor Benjamin Cline, who is currently teaching Public Speaking and Group Communications, was dedicated to bring a communication minor to the University, but saw many obstacles in his path.
With a Doctorate of Philosophy in Communication, Cline came to WNMU in 2010 and was originally teaching Public Speaking. When looking over the school’s catalog, he noticed that there were two other related communication classes; Intercultural Communication and Interpersonal Communication. Seeing an opportunity in the making, Professor Cline decided to volunteer and teach the Interpersonal Communications.
“The students said [that the class] was awesome and asked when they would be able to take another class with me,” Cline said, reflecting on the end of that semester.
Unfortunately, no other classes were available, at least not at that time. Two of Cline’s former students, Christina Willford and Christina Oaks, decided to start the push for more communication classes.
Another person that contributed to the formation of the communication minor came from the help of Ben Hammer, the Linebacker Coordinator and Special Teams Coordinator for WNMU’s football team. Coach Hammer was taking a Public Speaking class and had talked to Professor Cline about having a communications minor, citing that a communications major or minor would be a draw for new recruits.
Professor Cline says, “If it wasn’t for Coach Hammer, there would be no communications minor.”
With support from Hammer and the students, Professor Cline then took the idea to WNMU and his department and proposed the idea of creating a communication minor. The communications minor was finally approved in Fall of 2015.
There are currently two students enrolled in the minor, though it is still growing. One of which is Marivel Medel, an English major who would someday like to write for the Sun, the Atlantic, or Rolling Stone.
Marivel says, “Communications sounded like a good idea for a minor while I was taking Public Speaking, which I enjoyed very much. I also was really inspired by Dr. Cline and his unique way of expressing himself. He put a lot of faith into communication, its tenants and principles and also made a really strong argument for why it’s so important to have as a skill in everyday life.”
Having already taken three communications classes, she says that she enjoyed them all very much.
The classes that must be taken to earn a communication minors are as follows: COMM 110 Public Speaking, COMM 211 Mediated Communication, COMM 221 Small Group Communication, COMM 310 Communication and Thought, COMM 320 Persuasion, COMM 370 Interpersonal Communication, COMM 400 Cross-Cultrual Communication.
The minor is a two-year program of seven classes and can also be taken online starting in Fall 2016.
