Unveiling New College Of Communication And Design Through Integration Of Dmac

By Victoria Alvarez

Graduate Support

At just 54-years-old, Lynn is a young and constantly growing institution. A university that prides itself on innovation, Lynn is always looking toward the future and focusing on what is next.

On campus, Lynn offers a communication and media program that teaches and prepares students for various fields in multimedia journalism, public relations, film and graphic design. However, with the ever-growing presence of technology in society, the communication and media market is constantly and quickly changing.

Always prepared to embrace change and move forward, Lynn has recognized this quickly developing market and has taken action.

With the future of its students and faculty in mind, Lynn recently announced its decision to acquire and purchase the assets of the Digital Media Arts College (DMAC). This agreement allows the university to expand its communication and media programs by offering both DMAC programs and Lynn courses simultaneously.

With this expansion, Lynn’s College of International Communication has now become the Eugene M. and Christine E. Lynn College of Communication and Design. The newly named department will now have a combined curriculum of programs including graphic and web design, game art, animation, visual effects as well as previously offered courses such as advertising, public relations, multimedia journalism and film and television.

Dean of the College of Communication and Design, David Jaffe, believes that the acquisition of DMAC and the added curriculum open a wide span of opportunities for students. “What excites me the most is the fact that we can extend the range of academic offerings to students. They now can look at communication as well as a broad range of design programs such as animation, game art, graphic design and web design,” said Jaffe. “We [Lynn] understand what it means to be passionate about producing something innovative. Whether you’re a storyteller, a visualizer or an artist, our programs are designed to challenge, grow and engage you [the students] in ways you’ve never imagined.”

“What excites me the most is the fact that we can extend the range of academic offerings to students. They now can look at communication as well as a broad range of design programs such as animation, game art, graphic design and web design,” said Jaffe. “We [Lynn] understand what it means to be passionate about producing something innovative. Whether you’re a storyteller, a visualizer or an artist, our programs are designed to challenge, grow and engage you [the students] in ways you’ve never imagined.”

However, it is not just the DMAC programs that will be new additions to Lynn, but also the DMAC students, as well as faculty, that will join the Lynn community.

Along with the 33,600 additional square feet that Lynn will acquire in this agreement, almost 300 DMAC students are now preparing for their transition as Lynn students. For those that choose to transfer to Lynn, new academic and social opportunities await on the campus and in the Fighting Knight community.

As Lynn students, DMAC transfer students will not only gain access to additional majors, programs and classes, but also student services such as housing, athletics, dining, study abroad programs, student organizations and more.

Michelle Miranda, sophomore and current DMAC student, is excited for the opportunities that will be offered following her transfer to Lynn. “Personally, I am very outgoing. For me to get the opportunity to transfer to Lynn, I get more opportunities, like in clubs, organizations and sports that are not offered at DMAC.”

Although this new agreement brings much change, Lynn is an institution that remains fond of tradition. Based on that fondness, has structured the agreement to be an easy transition for DMAC students entering the Lynn community.

Although the Digital Media Arts College will cease operations and no longer exist as of Oct. 18, 2017, the aura and central ideals of DMAC will remain. In fact, the college is now named the Digital Media Arts Center, an extension of the College of Communication and Design.

In addition, current and incoming DMAC students can continue their programs without interruption, meaning that not only will their credits and current grade point averages (GPA’s) transfer with ease, but they also will not be charged an additional cost. Students will still have access to the same faculty, same schedule and same financial aid benefits.

The overall integration of the two institutions will benefit both the DMAC and Lynn community in more ways than one. “DMAC represents a whole new generation of digital artists and bringing that to Lynn not only benefits the DMAC students as they gain access to the programs we

“DMAC represents a whole new generation of digital artists and bringing that to Lynn not only benefits the DMAC students as they gain access to the programs we offer, but also Lynn students as they gain access to animation, gaming and web components,” said President Kevin Ross. “These digital storytelling courses, I believe, are skills for the future, so pairing that with a liberal arts curriculum with international experience just further enhances the overall Lynn experience for our students.”

Looking to the future, President Ross hopes to see the integration of the two institutions benefit more than just communication and design students. As time goes on, Lynn aspires to connect students from various majors to peers in other disciplines.

“As things settle into place, we are going to have a more global conversation about these changes,” said President Ross. “For example, we have aeronautics and now we have DMAC, so how do we link the two together? How do we work that all out? Things such as this are going to emerge as we get together with their [DMAC] faculty and staff and understand their patterns and ways of thinking.”

The Lynn community is not only continuously growing, but also continuously encouraging its students to find and express their passions while simultaneously working alongside others to capitalize on each other’s abilities.

The acquisition of DMAC and the integration of both the DMAC courses and students into the Fighting Knight community is sure to bring a hopeful and innovative feature as students prepare to learn and grow together in an environment that positively pushes them to move forward.