Kyle Cole: WWC Adjunct and What's to Come
Harley Woods | November 11, 2021
Special to The Echo | Kyle Cole
Kyle Cole on a hike.
New adjunct professor, Kyle Cole, joined the Warren Wilson College (WWC) community only two weeks before the start of the fall 2021 semester. Cole received a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in journalism from University of North Texas and his doctorate in journalism from University of Missouri. Between his bachelor’s and master’s, Cole worked for seven years as a writer and editor of the Denton Record Chronicles.
“It was an afternoon paper, so I would go there and open up at about 5 o’clock, and the paper would be out by noon,” said Cole.
After receiving his doctorate, Cole taught at Baylor University before moving to Atlanta and transitioning out of his role as a teacher. There he began work as a project director for various research projects across the US.
Having met one another at Baylor University, professor and Chair of the English Department, Paula Garrett, contacted Cole about the opportunity to teach at WWC.
“We had a huge number of first-year students coming in and all the first-year classes were full,” said Garrett. “We’ve already been talking about wanting to do communications in the English department and needing to do communications.”
Cole’s first class at WWC is Intro to Mass Communication, which explores different forms of communication and the role of media.
During the fifth week of the fall semester, Garrett and Cole began talking with Center for Integrated Advising (CIAC) staff member and supervisor for The Echo, Jay Lively, about creating a practicum course.
“When Jay Lively and I were talking to the provost, Jay Roberts, we pitched the idea of the practicum that was using the (Echo) Crew but also connecting it with a faculty member,” Garrett said.
Garrett said that the three pillars of WWC — service, work and academics — are often thought of as separate by staff and faculty members. However, for students, the three are not separate at all. Both Lively and Garrett wanted to create a hybrid between work and academics where students could gain work hours as well as academic credit for working with the student newspaper.
Offering work and academic credit for working in journalism is not the end goal, though. The development of Intro to Mass Communications and the practicum course are a part of a long-term goal to create a communications focus — and potentially a major — within the English department.
“I asked Kyle to give me a list of classes (for) if we were going to at least flesh out a full concentration and possibly a major,” said Garrett. “I want to teach a feature writing class because I’ve written for magazines and love that style of journalism: long form journalism. I think that’s on the draft for next year.”
In addition to the number of students at WWC currently interested in journalism, a significant reason to include a communications focus in the English department relates to the workforce.
“Communications is a very real and concrete answer for what you can do with an English major,” Garrett said. “When you look at our course listings it’s a little harder for students and particularly their parents to make that leap.”
What both Cole and Garrett have said is that the quickest way to develop a communications focus and a major is to increase student interest. Bringing in new students because of a journalism focus will allow WWC to pay for the faculty positions required.
“If the interest is there, then I think WWC will develop appropriately,” said Cole. “A lot of students can be interested in journalism and mass communication if they’re given the opportunity.”
Coming on board to help develop the communications focus is Elizabeth “Liz” Colton, the diplomat journalist in residence at WWC. Colton has worked all across the world building communications programs from scratch at various universities and brought in millions of dollars to those college programs.
The spring semester of 2022 will offer Intro to Journalism on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 10 AM. Additionally, there are two one-term practicum courses being offered for students who want to receive academic credit for writing articles for The Echo.