Happy autumn! I hope you are all having a great start to the semester. There have been some exciting updates over the past few months that I felt would be relevant to share with everyone here.
Firstly, an excerpt from our Fall 2026 Welcome Letter that was sent out to students, written by Dr. Melanie Lorek:
“As some of you may know, there have been some changes at SPS over the summer. Communication and Media is now part of Communication, Culture, and Society [CCS], which also includes Sociology, Human Relations, Museum Studies, and Immigration Law Studies. I’m very excited to welcome Communication and Media into this new unit and to begin working with all of you.
I’m excited that I’ll be joined in my work by Professor James Richardson, who will serve as Faculty Coordinator for Communication and Media. Professor Richardson will continue to teach in the program while also working closely with me on its academic and administrative leadership and supporting our students and faculty.
I also want to take a moment to recognize and thank Dr. Elizabeth Alsop, who has served as the Academic Director for Communication and Media. Dr. Alsop has done incredible work building and supporting this program and its community of students and faculty. I’m very grateful for the foundation she has built, and I look forward to continuing that work.
There are also a few changes to the team supporting you. Our wonderful College Assistant, Frankie Murphy, who has been such a supportive presence for Communication and Media students, will be with us through September 25 before embarking on an exciting new chapter as an English teacher in Santiago, Chile. I’m thrilled for Frankie and this new adventure.
I’m also very happy to welcome Lianna Scull, our Assistant Director, to Communication and Media and who has been Assistant Director for Sociology, Human Relations, and Immigration Law Studies since 2019. She is tremendously knowledgeable, caring, and committed to helping students succeed, and I know you will be in excellent hands with her. Samantha Boodoosingh, Academic Program Coordinator, will also occasionally be supporting Communication and Media students and the program.
Please join me in giving both a warm welcome!
As always, if you have questions or need support, please reach out. Assistant Director Scull [<lianna.scull@cuny.edu>] should be your first point of contact for program-related questions, and your assigned undergraduate academic advisor (listed in CUNYfirst) remains an important resource for questions about your individual degree plan, registration, and academic progress. You are also always welcome to reach out to me.”
These are important updates that I felt would be pertinent to include here on our OpenLab site in addition to email, in case anyone missed it. Please look out for an upcoming OpenLab post as well, formally introducing Lianna Scull as your new CM resource as I transition out of the College Assistant role.
Although I am leaving, I am so excited for this new era of the CM program under its new umbrella of Communication, Culture, and Society (CCS)!
