The Department of Communicative Sciences and Deaf Studies is the new name of what formerly was Communicative Disorders and Deaf Studies.

President Joseph I. Castro approved the new name, effective December 2016. Dr. Steven Skelton, chair, said the name change aligns with the University’s commitment to diversity and inclusion, and will provide opportunities for expanded professional partnerships for the department with other schools across the U.S.

The department, housed under the College of Health and Human Services, offers four degree programs in audiology, deaf education, interpreting and speech-language pathology. There are currently 499 students, at the undergraduate and graduate level, enrolled in the department. For more information, contact 278.2423.

President Castro also approved a name change for the Department of Mass Communication and Journalism to Media, Communications and Journalism. The two-decade old name was changed to better represent the department’s purpose while maintaining its journalism roots and established acronym, explained Betsy Hays, professor in the MCJ Department.

“Media, Communications and Journalism better describes who we are and what we do,” she said. “The phrase ‘mass communication’ is outdated and means little to both the industries we serve and the students we teach.”

For more information, contact bhays@csufresno.edu.