The faculty and staff of the College of Media and Communication welcomed President Duane Nellis on Nov. 18 for a tour of the college and its facilities.
President Nellis was given the grand tour of MCTV, The Hub, KTXT, and more. He said the college is an institution on the move, and in very positive ways.
“This is top of the line as far as I’m concerned, with all the work space you have and the outstanding faculty and staff you have to support this,” he said. “And you’re recruiting outstanding students.”
He said his vision is to be one of the nationally prominent research universities while not compromising being a student-centered institution. Sometimes when universities strive to be research prominent, student dimensions can end up being left behind. Nellis said he wants to see how the two fit together.
Nellis said the university is not a top tier research institution but is on the right path to become one.
Tech needs to promote more student and faculty recognition to help become top tier, he said. Nellis said producing more Ph.D.s will also help the university become more nationally recognized.
“In many ways Texas Tech is like a big family. One of the cultural dimensions I think of Tech is its sense of commitment to each other and support. It’s a positive place.”
Nellis has interacted with many students over the last several months, he said, adding that the students sense the staff and faculty care about them and want them to be successful.
“I’ve had the opportunity here within the last hour or so to tour a variety of your facilities, and I think you have an outstanding infrastructure here to support the great work you all do.”
The president said he thinks the College of Media and Communication does a good job of involving students with research being done. He said he wants more online classes to be offered, but wants these classes to be interactive and good quality.
Todd Chambers, associate professor of electronic media and department chair of journalism and electronic media, described Nellis as engaged and interactive. He said he is very thankful Nellis is here and was happy he spent so much time at the college the morning of the tour.
“I mean, think about it,” he said. “He could have come over here and spent 15 minutes and been in and out, but he spent the entire morning meeting and greeting.”
It was exciting to be able to show Nellis what the students, staff, and faculty are doing at the college, Chambers said.
Dean of the college, David Perlmutter, said he got the impression Nellis was attracted to Tech the first time he met him.
“We both believe Texas Tech is the place where we’ve got big ideas that can be put into action. There are a lot of campuses that have neither or just one, and you’ve got to have both, and that’s right here,” Perlmutter said.
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