Washington and Lee University
As the nation’s only accredited journalism and mass communications program in a highly competitive liberal arts university, we remain committed to our first and highest mission: to educate, to broaden minds, to inculcate habits of honor, careful analysis, reasoned discourse and excellent writing in an increasingly diverse and pluralistic culture.
As a department with professional constituencies and an obligation to prepare citizens to participate in a democratic society we seek to fulfill our mission by helping students develop abilities to think critically, to communicate clearly, to understand the ethical dimensions of the decisions they make, and to fully recognize the central role of news media in a free society.
Our professional responsibility remains that which was enunciated when scholarships for printers were first announced under Robert E. Lee’s presidency 140 years ago: educating students and professionals so that they can perform the crucial function of informing the community.
Because the journalism profession rightfully expects our graduates to become competent professionals, the department is committed to teaching students the skills and familiarizing them with the tools that are the standards of the industry. We remain committed to keeping abreast of those skills and tools as the information revolution continues.
The department must fulfill these multiple responsibilities within its commitment to a liberal arts education and the curricular limits established by the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications.
