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Department of Communication Named Federal Communications Commissioner Mignon Clyburn Distinguished Communicator
March 17, 2011 | Leave a Comment
The College of Charleston’s Department of Communication honored Federal Communications Commissioner, Mignon Clyburn with its “Distinguished Communicator” award. Clyburn delivered her lecture titled, “Celebrating Women in Public Service: Past, Present, and Future” at 3:00 p.m. Thursday, March17 in the Stern Student Center Ballroom.
Mignon L. Clyburn was nominated as a member of the Federal Communications Commission on June 25, 2009. Commissioner Clyburn has a long history of public service and dedication to the public interest.
Prior to her swearing in as Commissioner, Ms. Clyburn served for 11 years as the representative of South Carolina’s sixth district on the Public Service Commission of South Carolina (PSC). Commissioner Clyburn was elected to the South Carolina PSC following 14 years as the publisher and general manager of The Coastal Times, a Charleston-based weekly newspaper that focused primarily on issues affecting the African American community. For well over two decades, Commissioner Clyburn has been actively involved in myriad community organizations.
“Commissioner Clyburn has had a spectacular career. In her devotion to public service and the state of South Carolina, she has truly elevated the communication profession,” said Bethany Goodier, chair of the Department of Communication. “She is richly deserving of this award.”
Clyburn is the tenth honoree of the Communication Department’s Distinguished Communicator award. Other winners include author and satirist Christopher Buckley; Marilyn Laurie, retired global head of communications for AT&T; syndicated columnist Kathleen Parker; Sports Illustrated senior writer Gary Smith; U.S. Sen. “Fritz” Hollings; Nickelodeon television executive Marva Smalls; and former NBC News White House correspondent John Palmer.
With one of the largest undergraduate majors at the College of Charleston, the Department of Communication enrolls more than 800 students in its undergraduate and graduate programs. Students in the department study such topics as political communication, interpersonal communication, journalism, and public relations. The department is housed in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences.