Tom Collinger

Story by Erin Golden, MSJ 07

Moving Medill forward and into a rapidly changing media landscape is no easy task. But in his role as Associate Dean and Chair of Medill’s Integrated Marketing Communications department, Tom Collinger is stepping up to the challenge.

“I see [my job] as being one that is simultaneously continuing to keep the program fresh and on the leading edge, while at the same time better integrating it,” he said.

With other members of the administration, Collinger has been working to make curriculum once specific to particular Medill students—IMC, MSJ, or undergraduate—open and accessible for all.

 In the fall of 2006, some IMC courses were opened for the first time to students outside of the program. According to Collinger, the number of students who enrolled in the classes exceeded the administration’s expectations for the experiment.

“It turned out that by making it possible to take classes across departments, we discovered a growing interest in many of the classes, even beyond the IMC core classes,” he said. “I taught a customer loyalty class and had some MSJ students who contributed a great deal and found the class to be quite relevant.”

Collinger is also part of the team examining how to integrate the skills taught in IMC courses into traditional courses on the journalism side of Medill. And within the IMC department, faculty members and administration are working to make courses more diverse and more relevant for students entering a rapidly changing career field.

“There’s a shift going on in the program that mirrors the shift happening in the marketplace,” he said. “Before, there were differentiated and discrete jobs, in advertising, marketing, and public relations. What’s happening now is an integration and a blurring of those words and the functions they reflect.”

Identifying those changes, said Collinger, will make Medill graduates ready for the workforce and uniquely qualified for the tasks they’ll take on as professionals.

“It’s an exciting and challenging time because we want to give [students] a broad understanding of everything in the marketplace and cultural landscape, and to give them a skill set that is different and special,” he said. “The trajectory that the school is taking sets us up rather well to deal with all of it.”

In addition to his duties as an administrator, Collinger teaches an IMC course called Strategic Planning in an E-Commerce Environment, helps to plan the annual trips taken by IMC students to Europe and Asia, and works with a variety of companies to create internships for students.

In addition, Collinger is a frequent guest lecturer in executive programs hosted by the Media Management Center, where he speaks to media leaders from all over the U.S. and the world. It’s a heavy workload, but Collinger sees it all as a part of Medill’s bright future.

“In 2007 and 2008, I expect to see the launch of the evolution of the Medill brand,” he said. “We’ll be working on strategies to communicate it better, to connect with prospective students, industry and thought leaders.”