UNCW professor addresses how faculty is tackling current issues

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Universities around the country are revamping their policies and procedures, whether that means addressing the coronavirus or inclusivity and diversity.

Dr. Rick Olsen, professor and chair of the Communication Studies Department, says the faculty is working tirelessly toward creating powerful learning experiences for students.

“There are hundreds of people putting in thousands of hours to make UNCW an institution they can have pride in, send their kids to, and really partner with,” Olsen said.

Adjusting curriculum to transition from classroom to online or smaller class sizes to fit coronavirus safety standards, creating a more “woke” curriculum and rewriting syllibi to be more inclusive are among things Dr. Olsen says faculty are doing to address current issues.

“The fall is going to be different, there’s no question about it,” he said.

He says most of that difference will come from coronavirus adjustments, but he says each department is learning how they can uniquely address the current issues.

“I think that’s what is exciting to me about all this mess is how everybody is going to find their disciplinary perspective on important issues like COVID, like inclusivity and diversity, like Black Lives Matter, like all the challenges we’re facing,” Olsen said.

Olsen explains how the Black Lives Matter Movement creates a unique teaching opportunity.

“I think we have a great opportunity to teach why we can believe All Lives Matter, but need to coalesce around Black Lives Matter. Communication is both generic and specific, it’s both universal and local,” Olsen said. “Right now the hurting group, the challenged group, the victimized group is Black Lives Matter.”

He creates an analogy to put the movement into perspective.

“If you were going through a hard time, I wouldn’t say ‘well, I pray for all people.’ I’d say, ‘how can I pray for you?’ And that’s what we’re doing with Black Lives Matter. We’re saying how can I be there for you at this crucial moment in our lives and in our relationships with one another,” he said.

He compared the movement to other social issues.

“And then at other times, we may coalesce around a different phrase like Me Too. I wouldn’t say, ‘All Women Matter.’ I’d say, ‘no, this is the moment to do this thing.’ And that’s what I think our students need to hear,” Olsen said.

Olsen says at the end of the day, he hopes to feel as if important work has been done.

“Hopefully from that they find their thing. Whether its environmental justice, or whether it’s diversity in STEM disciplines, or whether it’s Me Too, or who knows what it’s going to be, but for them,” he said. “So they can say, ‘this is my thing, and this is what I want to champion.'”

Olsen says his goal is not only for students to get smarter, but for them to find their passion and figure out how they want to participate in making the world a better place.