Tom McDonnell, Ed.D. Campaign Statement for BEA District 7
It’s an honor to be nominated by my colleagues in BEA District 7 to serve on the BEA Board of Directors. As you may know, District 7 is different than the other BEA districts, because our district is not tied to geographic boundaries. Instead, our district represents the needs and interests 2-year colleges, colleges which serve a unique, diverse student population.
My entire career in higher education (27 years. BTW the picture is almost ten years old. I have some gray hair now) has been spent in 2-year colleges. First in a support staff role helping to manage a campus radio station, then as a full time instructor in Radio-TV/Video, and now as a full time administrator. This experience has given me the insight I need to understand and articulate the mission of the 2-year college and the needs of mass communication programs in our institutions, including how all of that relates to our experiences at BEA.
Even though I’m not in the classroom anymore, I still attend BEA every year. I’ve always felt that it is important to give back to the profession and to the organization that helped shape my professional career. For the past few years, I’ve been involved with helping organize the 2-Year/Small College portion of the BEA Festival of Media Arts and have helped judge entries in our interest division…a true labor of love. I’m finishing up my second year as the 2-year/Small College interest division chair and have worked to ensure the great panel ideas we develop in April, become reality by October in time to be part of the convention the following April.
I also attend BEA to learn more about classroom/studio/lab pedagogy, to compare my institution to other peer institutions, to get a better understanding of the political climate in other states across the country and to reconnect with my friends and colleagues in D7. There are always great ideas coming out of BEA that I can share with faculty both inside and outside of Mass Comm.
Again, I’m honored to be nominated and would be honored to serve as a member of the board. My pledge to you is to work hard to represent our unique mission within the framework of BEA
