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Robert Hariman can’t seem to get out of the Midwest. He grew up in North Dakota, went to school in Minnesota, had his first academic appointment in Iowa, and has been at Northwestern since 2004. He likes Evanston and the Chicago metro area for its combination of big city amenities and egalitarian values. He loves Northwestern for many reasons, not least its commitment to both world class research and exceptional teaching.

Hariman has been active in all three areas of academic life: teaching, research, and service.  While at Drake University, he was designated the Iowa Teacher of the Year (1990) by the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education. At Northwestern, his undergraduate courses include the study of problems of democratic speech in classical Athens, a survey of persuasive practices in contemporary visual culture, and a project-oriented study of environmental art and advocacy.

His graduate teaching is primarily devoted to courses in rhetorical theory, and it has included topical attention to photography and photojournalism, parody and other forms of political humor, and public emotions, among others. He also has taught in the MSC program, offering a core course in managerial ethics.

A primary focus of Hariman’s research has been on role of photography and especially photojournalism in public life. He and co-author John Lucaites built a research program that produced the books No Caption Needed: Photojournalism, Public Culture, and Liberal Democracy and The Public Image: Photography and Civic Spectatorship, as well as many shorter works, including the blog (now dormant but still online) Nocaptionneeded.com, which analyzed images in the news media. He also has been active in research in other areas, including the study of political judgment and a critique, with co-author Francis A. Beer, of the doctrine of political realism in international relations. His work has been translated into Arabic, Chinese, and French.

Hariman was no stranger to institutional service when he arrived at Northwestern, and since then has served in several different capacities. Beginning in 2007, he served for six years as Chair of the Department of Communication Studies. For much of the time subsequently, he was Director of Graduate Study for the degree in Communication Studies/Rhetoric and Public Culture. His service also included being Chair of the University Program Review Council and President of the University Faculty Senate.

Now he is stepping into the role of Director of Graduate Studies for the MSC program. “We live in interesting times,” he remarked, “which amplifies the significance of MSC’s focus on preparing students for organizational leadership.”

Hariman has been reviewing every aspect of the program through this lens. “Given our curriculum and faculty, we start in a very strong position. But the stakes are getting higher, and continued engagement with technological and social change and continued adaptability by both individuals and organizations is essential.”

“Furthermore, the purpose needs be more than near term success narrowly defined. Higher education should be teaching students how to be life-long learners, and how to both do well personally and contribute to building a better world.”

Jeanne was most recently a host of a television morning news talk show in Chicago for nearly 8 years and has had a 30-year career in radio and television. Her passion for media began in high school and continued at WNUR radio during her undergraduate degree at Northwestern. Jeanne believes in the importance of integrating experiential learning and academics in order to be able to truly organize and fully learn from our experiences.

At what point in your career did you enter the MSC program?

My undergraduate degree was from Northwestern and it was in psychology. I wanted to take a little break before graduate school, and instead I ended up having an entire career in the media. I had been working on “You & Me” for 4 or 5 years when I first entered MSC. However, I always had a life goal of going back to graduate school because I love school and love learning. The problem was that most of my learning between my undergraduate degree and the MSC was on the job– it was valuable but it was more like enrichment because it wasn’t academically rigorous.

So why was this the right time for you?

As my career changed, I changed too and I learned different things. Eventually, I realized that I wasn’t going to remain in broadcasting forever. The industry has changed a lot in the years that I’ve been in it and I realized I need to prepare myself for the next thing. I thought, maybe going back to school will help me codify and organize what I know. Sometimes what you’ve learned in life doesn’t have a place because it hasn’t been organized in the way that learning in an academic environment helps you to do. The coursework helped me to understand another layer of how to truly learn from my experience in broadcast, and that was what I wanted.

I enjoyed going back to school, and going back to Northwestern was very important for me too. I’m glad I waited until later in life (20+ years after undergrad) to go back to school. I was able to appreciate my Northwestern experience a lot more. I also brought a lot of my own experiences to the program and put it in perspective.

Why was MSC the right program for you?

I did a lot of research on different programs and already had an idea of what I wanted to do after broadcast. Eventually I decided that a graduate degree in communication was right for me. I wanted something a little different and broader in scope than what my career has been and covered all the different ways we communicate across the board.

In the end, the MSC turned out to be perfect for me not only because of the courses, but also because of the other people in my cohort. When you’re on air, your workflow and interactions with others happen very differently than in other businesses and industries. Through my classmates, I was able to learn about interactions in different industries.

What is something you’ve learned that has made an impact on your professional life?

Michael Roloff’s Change Management class was one of the first classes I took. To begin with, I love him and his style of teaching.

In an industry that constantly shifts according to people’s tastes, changes in technology, and new modes of media, my entire career has been about change. Thanks to this class I was able to analyze all of those different changes I had been through, and put them into context in order to understand how to manage them better. A lot of people have preconceived notions on how you implement change, not realizing there might be a better way to do it.

Any interesting or unique projects you worked on during your time in the program?

I really enjoyed my project in Professor Roloff’s class, because I was able to make it more personal. It was about analyzing a change management scenario. I chose changes that a coworker and I wanted to implement. It had to do with some workflow challenges for our team and the changes didn’t quite work the first time we tried. We used the material from the class to understand the different factors involved and how to adjust to them. I even followed up with him later about what worked and what didn’t. Every class that I’ve taken has applied to what I’ve already experienced or something that I’ve lived with in my industry and career, and I’m positive many students in my cohort felt the same way.

What advice would you have for anyone considering the Northwestern MSC program?

If you think the program might be right for you, it probably is. No matter where you are on the spectrum of experience, there is something in the program for you if you are interested in communication and becoming a better communicator. There is always room to get better and get to the next level. The program is so valuable because in everything we do, we are always communicating, negotiating and needing other people to understand us to accomplish goals.

Dear MSC Community,

We are thrilled to share some exciting news with our students, faculty, alumni, and wider community. MS in Communication has officially received a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) designation. Effective September 2022, the MSC program will be recognized as a STEM-designated program in “Digital Communication and Media/Multimedia”, CIP Code: 09.0702.

What does a STEM Designation mean?

A STEM designation is more than just a label; it signifies that our program meets the rigorous standards the U.S. Department of Education sets forth in the STEM field. This recognition reflects our commitment to equipping our students with the skills, knowledge, and experiences necessary to thrive in these critical areas.

How do students benefit?

STEM designation provides F-1 international students with a possible 24-month employment extension of a 12-month Optional Practical Training (OPT) authorization (36 months in total). Please visit Northwestern’s Student Employment page for additional details on OPT.

U.S. Citizens and Permanent Residents also benefit as STEM skills are sought by employers and typically lead to better-paying jobs. Our students may now seek scholarships and assistance from organizations supporting STEM programs.

Shortly after 9/11, Lauren Pedi ’19 stopped at her local hospital to ask about volunteer opportunities. She had recently moved from Detroit to Chicago—where her family was from—to work full-time at an architecture firm.

She was thankful for the job, given the current climate, but felt like something was missing. Maybe spending time in a medical setting would satisfy her desire for rewarding work.

Instead of becoming a volunteer, however, she ended up meeting someone in the development office. Shortly after, Pedi landed a job at Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center as a development coordinator—and she loved it.

“I learned a little about everything,” she says, “from major gifts fundraising to event planning and stewarding donors. So much was transferrable from my time as a communication major at University of Michigan-Dearborn because so much was about relationship building and connecting with people.”

Four years later, she joined Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago to work with volunteer boards and fundraise for special events. At the time, the hospital had just announced plans for a 22-story, state-of-the-art medical center, slated to open in 2012: Pedi would be part of the team tasked with raising $600 million for the campaign.

“It was a really fun, rewarding, and memorable experience. We worked hard. We played hard. We had 30 events in 30 days, and we loved every minute of it,” she says. The experience also solidified her desire to use her skills to support groundbreaking work in healthcare.

In January 2014, Pedi left the team to move into major gift fundraising; she joined Northwestern’s Feinberg School of Medicine to raise money for the Institute for Translational Neurosciences and its work on Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and ALS.

As she helped support this research, she decided it was time to explore a master’s program. After talking to colleagues, doing research, and attending information sessions, she discovered Northwestern’s MS in Communication program.

Pedi admits she was scared to return to the classroom after being out of school for nearly two decades, but her “colleagues spoke very highly of it,” she explains. “As a one year program, it seemed very approachable. And I knew the fundamentals would not only help me in my job today but also in the rest of my career—no matter where I went.”

Earning an MS in Communication gave her the opportunity and the confidence to put her skills to the test. For starters, she purposely chose an elective that she knew would be uncomfortable—but would pay off in the end: Professor Paul Arntson’s Leadership & Decision-Making class.

“You’re videotaped as you lead a group through a decision-making process based on an analysis of a business case study,” she explains. “Then you and the members of your team go back and evaluate how you did. When I first heard about it, I didn’t think I could ever do it. But I joined the program because I wanted to learn and push myself, so I decided to go for it.”

That confidence carried over into her work, too. While at the Feinberg School of Medicine, Pedi had agreed to share what she was learning in the program and lead the charge on a new project: finding meaningful ways to engage donors. After coming up with a plan, she took her team’s proposal to senior leadership and they moved forward. “I had the confidence to lead this small group through this process and present our ideas to leadership because of the experiences I had during the program,” she explains.

As graduation approached, Pedi planned to take a few months off and re-evaluate next steps. But after lunch with a former Lurie Children’s Hospital colleague, she learned about an open fundraising position within the neurosciences program.

She returned to the hospital in November 2019 as a senior major gift officer, where she raises funds for the Division of Neurology and Division of Neurosurgery, among other areas.

Today, Pedi still reaps the benefits of her MS in Communication. Working with doctors, scientists, administrators, and donors, she says her job can be challenging as she breaks scientific and medical information into understandable messages to motivate donors.

“The program gave me the confidence to ask questions and probe deeper with doctors and scientists to get at the heart of their work and how it translates into something meaningful for donors,” she says. “It helps me do my job more effectively and successfully.”

Growing up in an Iowa farm town, Mia Roberts ’19 couldn’t have imagined the opportunities waiting for her after graduating from Graceland University: managing magazines for the Women’s National Basketball Association, working for the Olympic Games in Atlanta and Sydney, and helping Encyclopedia Britannica transition to digital content.

The desire for a master’s degree was always in the back of her mind, but the opportunity never seemed to come at the right time.

 Shortly after applying to Columbia University for a Master’s in Journalism program, for example, she received a job offer in Sydney and had to decide: move to Australia to work for the Sydney Olympics’ Internet Business Group or go to New York for a graduate degree?

“At the time, I chose to continue my career,” says Roberts. “Living in Australia was a dream. My path so far has been a series of happy accidents—being in the right place at the right time. I’ve had wonderful opportunities and experiences, and I’m very grateful to the people who helped me along the way.”

When she began her family in the early 2000s, she steered her career path toward flexible opportunities that also called for less travel: working for the YMCA of the USA, a group publisher for the Olympics, Feeding America, and the American Egg Board.

A few years after being diagnosed with and recovering from breast cancer, Roberts left the American Egg Board to focus on her family for a year—and decided it was finally the right time to think about her master’s degree.

“The goal of earning a graduate degree had always been there,” says Roberts. “At one point, I even took a few classes at the University of Chicago to begin my path to an MBA. Beating cancer brought into sharp focus the idea of unfinished business—and my master’s degree was one of those things. This time, it was right. I decided to do it.”

Roberts wanted a professional refresh to realize her professional goals, such as taking on additional leadership opportunities. She also wanted to learn more about managing communications complexity, which led her to Northwestern’s MS in Communication Online Leadership Program (formerly known as the HLP).

“I remember my first day and a discussion about intellectual praxis and fulfillment through deeper levels of understanding,” says Roberts. “That really resonated with me. As soon as I heard that, I knew I was in the right place.”

For Roberts, the Foundations of Strategic Communication Management course was a great way to kickstart the program, beginning with the creation of a stakeholder salience model to better understand who stakeholders are, how they’re legitimized, and how to communicate with each of them. “That exercise blew my hair back. At that point, I knew there was so much more to learn.”

The focus on personal branding throughout the program helped her learn to effectively convey her strengths and weaknesses and communicate the value of her experiences. “After decades of working, you’d think you’d have this stuff down, but it’s an ever-evolving conversation about the benefits you can bring to an organization,” she explains.

In February 2019—a few months before graduation—Roberts became the director of partnerships and industry affairs for the National Restaurant Association. In this role, Roberts focuses on creating industry partnerships to protect and promote the restaurant industry while helping members find new ways to drive business during and after the pandemic.

“My job is to stay ahead of industry initiatives and find companies that want to work with us in bringing those initiatives to life,” she explains. “I feel even more prepared with my MS in Communication to face these challenges and lead our members through them.”