Sixty years of communication

Reverend John E. O’Brien, S.J. proposes a Department of Communication Arts

After receiving a doctorate in communication from the University of Southern California, Fr. John E. O’Brien returned to his alma matter, Loyola College, with the ambitious goal of founding Canada’s first Department of Communication. In a proposal to the Dean and the President of Loyola in April 1964, Fr. O’Brien provided a two-fold rationale to launch a program akin to those offered in over 140 American universities at the time: to imbue “the spirit of Christian humanism” over the development of mass media in Canada and to close the gap in Canadian communication studies scholarship. From the outset, Fr. O’Brien advocated for the simultaneously theoretical and practical approach to the curriculum that remains in the Department today.

Loyola College offers First Communication Course

Though the College did not accept his first proposal, Fr. O’Brien offered a single communication course in Fall 1964, which could be taken as a substitute for an English course requirement. Expectations for enrolment were low, from six to ten students. But after seventy-five students registered for the course, Loyola College began the process of implementing Canada’s first Department of Communication Arts.

Loyola College the First Canadian Post-Secondary Institution to Establish Department of Communication

• Officially inaugurated in Fall 1965, the Department of Communication Arts at Loyola College mirrored existing American programs.
• The program offered a BA major that included seven courses of 22 to be taken inside the new Department.
• The course structure developed students in both the scholarly and creative facets of contemporary media.

Film Lending Library Opens

A project initiated by the Department of Communication Arts, forty-three National Film Board productions formed the core of the facility.

Source: Memo from Communication Arts Department to Loyola College Department Heads, 17 November 1966, I147/16A – Office of the President Fonds – Internals Relations, Academic, Department of Communications, 1964-1968, Folder #1: 1964-1968)

Father O’Brien spreads Word of the New Department

At a symposium entitled “The Present Position and Future Development of Canadian Communications Research and Teaching” held at the University of Saskatchewan, Fr. O’Brien presented about the new Communication Arts Department at Loyola College before an audience of fellow scholars and university administrators.

Source: O’Brien, John E. Presentation at Symposium on “The Present Position and Future Development of Canadian Communications Research and Teaching.” April 24-25, 1967.

Department Faculty Doubles in Size Following Expo ’67

For the first few years, four faculty – Fr. O’Brien, Dr. John Buell, Ross Dolinsky and Don Clark – formed the core teaching and technical staff of Communication Arts. After Montreal’s Expo ’67 wrapped up, however, Fr. O’Brien capitalized on the general interest in new media to recruit some of the Expo’s celebrated artists. Charles Gagnon, the renowned artist and filmmaker for Expo 67’s Christian Pavilion, became a professor and the Department’s artist-in-residence. Dr. Miroslav Malik, who was executive director for the Czech pavilion at Expo, joined the Department, initially as a visiting professor. That same year, the Department also welcomed its first female faculty member, Dr. Gail Valaskakis, as well as film scholar Fr. Marc Gervais.

Sources: Seaton, Beth. “Communication Studies began twenty years ago,” 25 April 1985. Pg. 8. Letter, Patrick G. Malone, S.J., President, Loyola College to Gail Valaskakis, 16 May 1967. P-125 – Gail Valaskakis Fonds, CUA.

First Graduate Program Begins

The Department launched its first graduate program, the Graduate Diploma in Communication, in 1967, designed specifically for people with Bachelor of Arts degrees from other disciplines.

Bryan Building Opens

Named for Fr. William Xavier Bryan, S.J. (1892-1947), a distinguished teacher of economics, sociology, French, and philosophy, and Dean of Studies at Loyola, the Bryan Building opened in the winter of 1968. The Bryan Building provided ample space not only for classrooms and offices, but also a combined television-film studio, two radio studios and control booths, a multi-media room, a photo studio-graphics room, an editing room, and a dark room. These modern facilities were considered a bold step forward for an academic program, and were instrumental in establishing the program reputation for curricular and scholarly innovation.

Sources:
“Bryan Building.”
“WOULD YOU BELIEVE?” pamphlet, 18 September 1967. I147/16A – Office of the President Fonds – Internals Relations, Academic, Department of Communications, 1964-1968.

Faculty Calls for Shift from Teaching to Scholarship

Changes were in the works. In April 1970, faculty members petitioned the Department to shift the focus from teaching to research. Department Chair Fr. O’Brien received a request from Dr. Buell for research funds, writing, “With some five years behind us, I believe it is now time for the Department to make its contribution on the wider levels of media theory and practice per se, and to arrive at a performance level commensurate with our capacities.” Charles Gagnon reiterated Buell’s sentiment in an October 1970 report to R.P. Duder, Assistant to the President of Loyola College, arguing for more time and resources to be dedicated to scholarly and artistic pursuits.

Source: Letter from John Buell to John E. O’Brien, S.J., 11 April 1970. I147/16A – Office of the President Fonds – Internals Relations, Academic, Department of Communications, 1964-1968, CUA, Concordia University.

Department offers Summer Institute in Europe for students

Communication Arts experimented with novel forms of teaching. In 1970, the Department offered a Summer Institute in Europe for students. The first of its kind for Canada, the Summer Institute aimed to provide added dimensions to the normal courses of Communication Arts study at Loyola. For the eight-week summer session, students in Communication Arts received concentrated and varied instruction through lectures, seminars, and exposure to leading communications authorities in seven different European countries. Students also visited many museums, art galleries and festivals, and