DePaul University will commemorate the inaugural year of its College of Communication with a May 12 luncheon that celebrates the new college's successes while looking to the future.

The inaugural celebration will take place at 11:30 a.m. Monday, May 12, in the Crystal Ballroom of the Blackstone Hotel, 636 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago. WMAQ-TV news anchor Warner Saunders, a member of the college's advisory council and winner of 19 Emmy awards, will emcee the event. ABC News correspondent Chris Bury will deliver the keynote address, and DePaul President Rev. Dennis Holtschneider, C.M., will provide the welcome.

In its first year, the college has added two new graduate programs and developed five distinct undergraduate majors. DePaul is now the second-largest provider of bachelor's degrees in communication in Illinois and the fourth-largest provider of master's degrees in communication in the state.

"In this age of media convergence, we are preparing students to be effective communicators and critical thinkers so they can be leaders at the forefront of a rapidly changing profession," Dean Jacqueline Taylor said.

The college prepares students to craft and deliver messages across a variety of platforms, including face-to-face, print, audio, video, Web and the rapidly evolving world of social media. It integrates mass communication and communication studies, enabling practitioners to draw on the history and ongoing evolution of communication.

In keeping with DePaul tradition, the new college blends theory with professional practice. For example, instructor Mike Conklin's journalism students covered both the Iowa caucuses and the Illinois presidential primary for a variety of media outlets and via the blog www.Depolitics08.com.

The college also works collaboratively with other schools and colleges at DePaul, such as the College of Computing and Digital Media, to provide students with interdisciplinary opportunities and cutting-edge instruction in integrated communication.

Established in spring 2007, the College of Communication is DePaul's ninth and newest college, serving 965 undergraduate students and 131 graduate students in fall 2007. It originated in 1978 as a major area of study in the Department of English.

Taylor has assembled a dean's advisory council made up of veteran media and other communications professionals who bring an experienced and pragmatic perspective to help guide the college in its future decisions and directions. Among its members are Emily Barr, president and general manager of WLS-TV; Vicky Gordon, founder and CEO of The Gordon Group; John Gehron, general manager of Harpo Radio; adjunct professor Joe Cappo, longtime editor, writer, columnist and publisher for Crain's Chicago Business, Chicago Daily News and Advertising Age; and 1997 DePaul alumnus Jeff Levick, director of global industry development and marketing at Google. (For a complete list of members, visit http://communication.depaul.edu/People/Deans_Avisory_Counc/index.asp)

The college has attracted professors with many years of experience in some of the biggest media markets in the nation. Among the faculty members are health communication experts Donald Martin and Jill O'Brien, both associate professors, and award-winning Chicago Sun-Times columnist Laura S. Washington, who teaches journalism courses as the Ida B. Wells-Barnett University Professor at DePaul.

The college embraces the digital technologies that are changing the face and pace of communication with a suite of labs on the concourse level of the DePaul Center in the Chicago's thriving South Loop. The recently opened Communication and Digital Cinema Center includes a broadcast facility with a state-of-the-art green screen studio and control room linked to a Mac lab, high-end editing suites, a PC lab and two multimedia "smart" classrooms.

The curriculum focuses on ethical journalism practice and the convergence of traditional and new media, while preparing students for professional practice in an evolving marketplace. Students learn to express themselves well in oral and written communications, think critically about communication in all aspects of their lives, develop skills essential in an increasingly global workplace and communicate effectively in a diverse world.

It offers graduate programs in public relations and advertising; journalism; media, culture and society; and organizational and multicultural communication. Undergraduate programs include communication studies; journalism; media and cinema studies; PR/advertising; and communication and media.

Located in the third-largest media market in the United States, the college provides its students with nearly 900 internship opportunities at network, radio and television outlets; corporate public relations and advertising agencies; independent film companies; local and national political offices, entertainment venues; and sports franchises.

For more information about the College of Communication, please call 773/325-7174 or visit http://communication.depaul.edu/index.asp.