Strategic Plan 2001-2002

Kathleen Blake Yancey, Director
R. Roy Pearce Professor of Professional Communication

The Beginning and Mission

The Roy and Marnie Pearce Center for Professional Communication was created 12 years ago. Since that time, hundreds of faculty have attended Pearce-sponsored workshops to learn how to incorporate communication into their teaching and learning; the Pearce Center has collaborated in other campus efforts such as service learning; and it has offered two types of summer programming, one for high school students, another for college students. In keeping with its mission, the Pearce Center has also supported communication across the curriculum in K-12 settings, and it has worked with members of its Corporate Advisory Board to develop the kinds of communication skills and competencies we would like to see in Clemson graduates.

Strategic Plan 2000-2001

The Pearce Center Strategic Plan for 2000-2001 included six major goals:

1. Diversify Work with Faculty
2. Structure Research Team Work around Projects
3. Connect with Other University InitiativesWhere and When Appropriate
4. Support MAPC Graduate StudentResearch
5. Sponsor Allied Activities
6. Establish (in some cases, re-establish) Advisory Boards

In addition, last year, we were honored by TIME magazine as Best Public University of 2001. To commemorate this honor, we created a writing contest to award collaborative authorship of texts focused on "Why Writing Matters."

Strategic Plan 2001-2002

This year, we are the recipients of a major gift--$1 million-from the Clemson Class of 1941, to create the Class of 1941 Studio for Student Communication, a place where students will develop proficiency in speech, writing, and digital communication technologies. One of our main goals this year, then, is the design and implementation-both of the physical space and of the programme--for this Studio.

We thus have two broad goals this year:
(1) begin to bring into reality the vision of the Class of 1941 Studio for Student Communication;
(2) continue the Pearce Center programme of communication-across-the-curriculum workshops, diversified faculty development efforts and individual Pearce Team projects, as detailed below.


1. Feature Workshops on Speech throughout the Year

  • Beginning in September, the Pearce Center will offer two workshops a month on using speech in teaching and learning.

2. Structure Research Team Work around Projects

  • Each member of the Research Team will design a Pearce Project that relates both to their teaching and to their research interests, that fits with the mission of the Pearce Center, and that will lead to publication.
  • Professor Nancy Jackson will develop our initial Clemson offerings in speaking across the curriculum and create a second set based on faculty interest.
  • Professor Barbara Heifferon will implement the Health Communication Certificate; the first group of students will begin in fall 2002.
  • Professor Summer Smith will build on her successful "Speakers Series" for students and faculty in technical and business communication courses and develop a new program for those courses.
  • Professor Michael Neal will offer several writing workshops for faculty across the curriculum. He will also act as liaison for our potential efforts with the online undergraduate research journal hosted by Clemson's Advanced Film and Fiber Institute.
  • Professor Art Young will continue his project: Poetry across the Curriculum.
  • Professor Kathleen Yancey will lead the PowerPoint project, a faculty development group investigating ways that Powerpoint presentations can enhance student learning.
  • The entire team will help develop a new programme for our new Class of 1941 Studio for Student Communication. We will be assisted in this effort by Meg Morgan, our Visiting Scholar.

3. Connect with Other University Initiatives

The Pearce Center has a history of working with other groups on campus; this tradition will be expanded, in these ways specifically:

  • The Pearce Center, the Dropout Prevention Center, and the Rutland Center for Ethics are helping design and will offer a summer institute for high school teachers that links service learning, ethics across the curriculum, and reflection.
  • Last year, the Pearce Center sponsored two workshops on diversity; this year we will build on this beginning by co-sponsoring, with the Office of Teaching Effectiveness and Innovation, a workshop on diversity in January, led by a leader in the field.
  • The Pearce Center will collaborate with the Woman's Festival in the spring, hosting a speaker on feminist pedagogy and communication.
  • The Pearce Center will continue participation in the development of the Clemson Electronic Portfolio, the CLE-enriched electronic portfolio that is being developed by the Clemson Portfolio Research Team, led by Carla Rathbone and Professor Yancey, with assistance from Donna Winchell, and supported by an Innovation Fund Grant.
  • The Pearce Center will collaborate with the Graduate School and other campus units to devise a support system for graduate students, including entry-level support; mid-level support; and support for making the transition to the world of work.

In addition, each collaborative venture will have a Pearce Team Member liaison.

4. Sponsor Allied Activities

The Pearce Center will continue to support related activities, including

  • Sponsorship of the Tiger Cup
  • Contributions of Funding and Talent/Time to the Symposium on the Technology and the Future of Publishing
  • Contributions of Funding and Talent/Time to the Clemson Site of the National Writing Project


5. Work with Advisory Boards to Develop New Faculty Initiatives and Develop our New Studio

Specifically, we seek new collaborations with our K-12/Community Outreach Advisory Board, and help in thinking about our new Studio from the Campus Advisory Board.

Likewise, we are inviting the Corporate Advisory Board to help us think this year about the possible Ph.D. program in Professional Communication, and about the role of ethics in the workplace and in communication issues.