Ford
When the current director of the School of Communication, Steve Rhodes, announced his retirement, the search began to find someone new to lead the communications department in the future.
After months of narrowing down the candidate list, the search committee decided to hire Leigh Ford, Ph.D., who is currently the director of graduate studies for the School of Communication.
Ford will be replacing Rhodes as the communications director on July 1. The initial search process began in April 2008 and came to an end in December.
Joseph Kayany, the search committee chair for the new director, explained that formal training would not be necessary for Ford, due to her prior experience with the School of Communication.
“Ford knows how the system works,” Kayany said. “She has been here for many years, but [Rhodes and Ford] are probably working together now and consulting.”
“Dr. Rhodes has clearly been outstanding as the director of communication,” Ford said. “He has performed admirably on all levels. It’s a little daunting to follow him, but I’ve had the opportunity to observe the things that he’s done up close. I won’t fill his shoes but will bring my own strengths [to the position].”
Before Ford had been the director of graduate studies for the School of Communication, she had another connection to the university: she graduated with a master’s degree in communications from WMU. She moved on from there to earn a doctorate degree from Purdue University.
Ford decided to apply for the position of communication director for several reasons, and they all refer back to her nine years of experience working with the School of Communication.
“I’ve had an ongoing history with the school, and I have a feeling of real commitment with the colleagues and the staff,” Ford said. “I was able to be an observer of growth that the school has had in the last few years, and I feel strongly in [the school] as a vital part of the university. I felt that I had the skills to continue to see that happen.”
During the interview process, the candidates were asked to describe the vision for the future of the School of Communication, and Ford is taking her vision seriously, as she prepares to take on the director’s position.
“The primary value in the discussion was the role of interdisciplinary studies in communication,” Ford said. “[In this] increasingly complex world, students must not only be able to multitask but must be multi-skilled.”
One concept that Ford would like to continue for the future of the School of Communication is the outreach efforts that Rhodes previously established through recruitment, retention, and connection. Ford stressed the importance of being proactive for the sake of the students and always thinking forward about the curriculum.
“Communications is both an ancient field of study and a modern field of study,” Ford said. “Communicating interpersonally has changed the language used and its frequency, with less and less face to face. That’s what makes it so exciting: It has ancient roots yet it is as modern as telephones, texting, and Facebook.”
In today’s society, Ford sees an ever-complicated communications environment that requires people to have strong communication skills to be successful and happy. She stated that the curriculum can include a range of competencies for students so that they can reach this success.
“[We can provide] competencies that any 21st century communication student needs,” Ford said. “From there we can specialize and identify what the core competencies are.”
Any reservations that Ford currently has about her new job mainly revolve around her drive to do the best that she can for the faculty and students of the university. She explained that she will only be faced with her personal limitations and the reality of a larger system that she will work with.
“In the first few months, I will be getting my arms around the job itself with aspects that are new and many things [for me] to learn,” Ford said.
Since Ford received her master’s degree here at WMU, she wants to thank all of the professors who helped her at the time, including Rhodes and Peter Northouse, Ph.D.
“All of the professors that I had were incredibly supportive and encouraging of me,” she said. “The graduate director at the time was Dr. Shirley VanHoeven, who was very supportive, as was many of the faculty.”
Ford also wants to thank the faculty and staff who participated in the search process for her new position. She said that she appreciated all of the energy, time, and thoughtfulness that were involved during each step leading up to the hiring of a new director of communication.
