Speech Dean Barbara O’Keefe has hired a new associate dean to establish a School of Speech internship office that she hopes will begin matching students with jobs nationwide by Fall Quarter.
Communication studies Prof. Peter Miller will assume the position of associate dean Spring Quarter and plans to begin compiling a database of Speech internships soon afterward. Students can receive academic credit for an internship taken during the school year or the summer.
O’Keefe said the program would be optional for Speech students but that she will look into making an internship a mandatory part of students’ curriculum.
“Internships are a key mechanism for professional socialization,” she said. “It’s about learning the background of your craft – how people dress and talk and act. To learn those things, you have to get out into the world. You can’t just sit on campus.”
Eventually, O’Keefe said she would like to use the Internet to allow students on internships to take Northwestern classes while they are away from school.
Many Speech students already do internships, but they are largely responsible for finding them on their own, Miller said. The placement office, which would be located in Frances Searle Hall, would make the process easier for students, he said.
Miller said he hopes the program will be similar to the placement office in the Medill School of Journalism, which compiles job information and posts it on the Internet.
“I’m looking to get a central clearinghouse going,” he said. “In the short run, students will continue to do what they’ve always done. All I’m going to do is gradually offer a central place where they can look.”
O’Keefe said she first came up with the idea of an internship office when talking to alumni, who approached her and asked what they could do for Speech students.
Although she did not conduct a formal interviewing process, she said, Miller was a good fit for the job.
“This is the kind of project that sparked his creativity,” she said. “He knew he could do a lot for students.”
Miller said the office would serve the dual role of finding jobs for students and making alumni feel more connected to the school.
“The program will help students maintain good contacts with alumni, who will benefit from contact with the undergraduates,” he said. “I see myself as facilitating linkages among students, faculty and alumni.”
He said students would receive a varying amount of credit for their internships. Students who work part-time but still attend NU would earn one unit, and students who leave for an entire quarter would receive three or four, he said.
And while these students are away from campus, Miller said, Speech professors will keep in touch with them through e-mail and will try to enroll them in online courses.
“In theory, you could have students in San Francisco and Los Angeles and New York City, who are all registered for the same class, talk to each other,” he said.
Speech sophomore Brendan Cullen said he has sent his r
