What Floats her Boat
Find out what new SJMC Director Carol Pardun is all about.

Dr. Carol J. Pardun began her tenure as the director of the School of Journalism and Mass Communications on Aug. 1, after serving at Middle Tennessee State University for three years in a similar position. Colleagues at MTSU described her as "energetic" and "enthusiastic," and we found this to be true in our iSITE interview with her. We've also included on this page a short video of comments she made at the College's Opening Convocation on Aug. 9. For more detailed information on her academic background and research interests, visit her Faculty W eb page>.

Let's start out on a light note. Which of these options really "floats your boat?"

Decaf or regular?
Regular in the morning. Otherwise, what’s the point? I’ve been known to down a decaf or two in the evening, though.

Snow or sun?
Sun! Anything, but snow. I hate snow. I hate everything about snow.

Dogs or cats?
Cats, absolutely. I love cats, but, alas, we are cat-less. Our four-year experiment with a cat named Pinch didn’t work out all that well.

J-School faculty and staff dress in costume and serve hot dogs and fixings to our students at the “Hallowiener.” We’ve had plump M&Ms, witches, pirates, the Cat in the Hat, Judge Dread and the Grim Reaper, just to name a few. What will your costume be?
Uh-oh. Based on my previous comment about hot dogs, I might not be very popular at the Hallowiener. Halloween is not my favorite holiday and I really don’t like dressing up as other things. However, I went to a party as a lamp once — and that was a huge success. I had a white bathing cap and covered my face in flour as the light bulb. You get the idea.

What typeface best describes your personality?
For a day-to-day type font, nothing beats Arial Narrow. It’s minimalist and to the point, which I think a lot of people might say would fit me. However, for a bit of flair, there is a font based on Frank Lloyd Wright that I love a lot.

Favorite TV show?
Currently, it’s Army Wives. In the fall, it’s The Biggest Loser. That’s my fantasy show. Being locked up in a huge house with a full-time trainer and food consultant and being required to exercise all day sounds like the perfect day to me. Actually, there is probably no reality TV show that I’m not willing to watch at some time. My TV viewing habits are very bizarre. It probably has something to do with not having TV for the first 20 years of my married life.

What book have you read more than once and could still read again?
That Hideous Strength, by C.S. Lewis. I used to read that book every year. I’m sure I’ve read it at least 20 times.

Here, “Carolina” means “Gamecock Country.” As a former Tar Heel, how will you make the adjustment?
This is the most difficult question you’ve asked me so far. I have to admit, I’m still working on this. While I absolutely love my new life here, I may as well say this now — in March, I’m a dedicated ACC fan. Sorry.

We understand you are an avid rower and sailor, so let’s dive in a little deeper.

How is a journalism school analogous to an eight-oared shell?

In rowing, you have to work together to move the boat efficiently. When you do, it looks pretty easy. Only the rowers know how much work it took to get to that point. However, if something goes wrong in the boat, everybody knows — and complains about it!

Is the director the stroke or the coxswain?

I hope it’s the stroke! The cox yells a lot to get the rowers to do the right thing. So all you do is get a sore throat. But the stroke moves the boat by example. She is an experienced and confident rower, so the rest of the boat never worries. The rest of the rowers might not agree with the rating, but they’re willing to row it to stay in sync with the stroke.

And now some of those questions we just have to ask…

Why USC?

I was looking for a great flagship university in the south with an excellent J-School, located in a desirable living environment, where I could still sail and row. There are only about three schools that fit that bill and I’ve already been at two of them. (UGA and UNC) I wanted this move to be a place where I was willing to stay. I’m pretty sure I’ve found it. I love the potential of this place. It’s very exciting!

How would you describe your leadership style?

Leadership by example. What I love about leading in the academic environment is that it’s more about encouraging colleagues to do the best work they are capable of rather than “managing” them.

What do you enjoy most about being a journalism educator?

Thinking, writing, and teaching about things that can have a huge impact on our society. I like our academic field because it’s so interesting…filled with lots of different kinds of scholars. Where else can you hang with photojournalists, lawyers, and social scientists — all in the same building?

How might you use your upcoming role as president of AEJMC to increase our school's profile?

People already know about South Carolina, so it’s not like I have to introduce the world to this great place. However, as an officer, I do have more opportunities than normal to get our school in the national spotlight. As a result, I think more graduate students will want to consider USC as a potential home to begin their academic career. So it should help in faculty recruitment. But, it’s not just about me. There is a vibrant contingent of AEJMC members here in the J-School. It was fun at the recent convention to see so many of my new colleagues in Chicago engaged at the convention.

And now for the heavy stuff…

What are mass communications programs missing that they need to incorporate to stay in step with — or better ahead of — the changing media environment?

Deep thinking. Understandably, programs all over the country are trying to figure out how to stay ahead of the ever-changing media environment. But, the programs that do the serious deep thinking needed for change will be in the best shape in the future. This is a hard question because public universities are not known for lightning-speed changes.

Has it come time to seriously think of dropping the "mass" from "mass communications" in the school's name given what is happening in the age of the "daily me"?

I may be unpopular for saying this, but I would say an emphatic NO. The “mass” is what makes us unique. No matter what happens to the change in the media, I don’t think it will ever become a one-to-one transmission only. Of course, I understand that the media are becoming more and more fragmented, but the backbone is still our mass media. Newspapers are hemorrhaging, that’s true. But the newspaper is not going to die. We can’t let it die. It might continue to change, but it’s not going to disappear.

Likewise, television. We may say TV is old media, but I just bought my first LCD HD TV. It’s totally cool. Sure, I can watch Army Wives on my computer the day after it airs. But I make sure to watch it on Sunday night. I like thinking of all the other devotees watching it that night. You get the picture.

Other professional schools seem to lead their professions with innovation. Communication has a long history of following its industry(ies), focusing primarily on criticism and explanation/theory building after the fact. How do we change that?

I’m not sure I agree with that. I’m not sure the other professional schools are any more innovative than we are — it just seems that way. I think part of the reason it seems that we are always “following” is because we tend to look at the truly innovative media corporations and think they are the norm. You don’t have to travel too far from Columbia before you hit media outlets that would give a lot to have the equipment and the innovation that we have.

The University of South Carolina is in the process of revising its "general education" requirements. From your perspective as a leader in journalism education, what one or two aspects (e.g., core curriculum, experiences, habits of mind) of a "general education" requirement would you stress?

If I could have only one requirement, it would have to be writing. But if I could revise gen ed requirements, I would make sure every J-School student took enough foreign language to fall in love with another country and go visit, enough economics to understand how the monetary world works, enough history to understand the past so we don’t repeat it, and enough literature to help us understand the rhythm of words.

You have an undergraduate degree from a liberal arts college and have taught at a large, prestigious state flagship research university. In your opinion, would the "general education" requirements of a liberal arts college necessarily be any different from those at a research university?

No. That’s what I love about flagship universities. They have the potential to offer a true liberal arts background along with professional training.

Our undergraduate students get a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and Mass Communications. Yet three of the five programs of study (advertising, public relations, and visual communications) arguably could be offered by other academic units. Why do you think it makes sense for these programs of study to be offered by the School of Journalism and Mass Communications rather than by some other unit?

Because it’s the media that holds us all together. Just take a look at advertising in a business school or visual communication in an art school. It’s not that those are “wrong,” just different. We look at these issues from how they intersect inside and outside the media.