Bulletin News

04/01/2010 

International Communications and Culture (ICC) Department faculty recently voted to change the department’s name to the Modern Languages Department, effective to external audiences at the start of the 2010-11 academic year.

The proposal was submitted on Feb. 17 and subsequently reviewed and approved by School of Arts and Sciences Dean Bruce Mattingly. The President’s Cabinet endorsed the change on March 15.

Starting on Aug. 30, the new moniker will appear in all College publications, communications, on the Web site and signage.

ICC Department Chair Robert Ponterio stated in his proposal for the change that the new name would clearly, accurately and briefly describe the purpose and scope of the department.

The Modern Languages Department will be easier for prospective foreign language students to recognize than the current department title, he said, adding that the present name does reflect the state and national standards of language studies.

However, “the name International Communications and Culture frequently leads to confusion and misunderstanding,” he explained. “Other offices have similar sounding names: International Programs (Clark Center), Communication Studies, International Studies and Communication Disorders and Sciences. In addition, prospective students looking for language classes or majors in French, Spanish and Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) can have trouble finding us because ‘International Communications and Culture’ is meaningless to them. The name simply doesn’t communicate what we do to the uninitiated.”

In the course of developing the new name, faculty examined the names of similar departments in other SUNY schools and in other mid-sized area colleges. Many use the words “Modern” and “Languages.”

“Any new name would have to accurately reflect what we do and clearly communicate the range of our activities to others,” Ponterio continued.

“Modern Languages is brief and to the point. It includes the communication and culture goals of the standards along with the associated areas of language and literature. Although ‘Second Languages’ would be technically more accurate in some ways, it would lead to confusion, whereas ‘Modern Languages’ does not.”

In bringing about the name change, the department’s faculty followed the College’s revised timetable for office and departmental name changes, which was approved by the President’s Cabinet in February 2009 and is published under Chapter 442 of the College Handbook.