On September 3, 2015 Alcorn’s Mass Communications Department held its annual Meet and Greet in the Inclusion Center of the Industrial Technology Building.
This time however, students, staff and faculty gathered to welcome Dr. Cynthia Scurria as the new Chairperson of the Department. Scurria has served as the chair of English and Foreign Languages for nine years. After the merging of the English and Mass Communications Departments students now share a joint Department that will honor degrees in both fields of study.
“Our main concern was students thinking they would receive an English degree but that is not the case,” Scurria explained. “Before the merger there were two degree programs and after the merger it will remain the same. Students studying Mass Communications will receive a Mass Communications degree and those studying English will receive a degree in English.”
A native of Slidell, Louisiana, Scurria has been a member of the Alcorn family for 12 years. She completed her undergraduate studies at Louisiana State University and went on to complete her Ph.D. in English at Tulane University in New Orleans. After moving to Vicksburg, MS, Scurria set her sights on Alcorn and hasn’t looked back.
“I’m looking forward to getting to know all of the Mass Communications students,” she says. “There is no limit to what we can do together.”
Scurria has already taken action in the Department and it seems like everyone is on board. Some plans in the works are repairing and upgrading the computers in the Department’s computer lab and also hiring a broadcast professor to instruct students on the world of Broadcast Journalism. Students will receive new television and camera equipment as well as a revitalized Communications Club. Scurria also plans to take student field trips to radio and television stations in Jackson and other areas and experience doing mock interviews at the Grand Gulf Nuclear Station which is operated by Entergy.
“It’s been great, I love being in the classroom and working with students,” Scurria says. “I am very excited to be a part of the Mass Communications Department.”