If you aren't familiar with the "best kept secret" of Seton Hall, you might want to ask Professor Thomas Rondinella, the chair of the new Communication and the Arts Department.
Students are often unaware of what goes on in the basement of Fahy Hall, and one of Rondinella's goals is to reveal to the Seton Hall community what the department produces.
"Too many students say ‘Oh I didn't know we had a TV department,' ‘I didn't know we had painting,'" Rondinella said. "I think part of my job is to raise the profile of the department to let everybody know the great things that our students are doing, that our faculty is doing, and all the great things that our alum are doing."
The new department will also take a look at curriculum and ways to do more interdisciplinary work with communication, art and music. The curriculum will also be kept up to date to stay relevant as times change.
"This area that we are in, communication and arts, is constantly changing and always fluid so we have to always be fluid with our curriculum and ideas, we have to change our curriculum according to what is going on in the real world so our students can better be served when they graduate," Rondinella said.
Changes will come with the merging of the departments, according to Rondinella, but only good ones.
Having worked at Seton Hall since 1985, Rondinella felt it was his time to step up, and decided to apply for the position.
He will continue to teach two classes a semester as well as advise broadcast and visual interactive media majors, in addition to all other students in the department.
Rondinella said he is not sure if he will continue to advise PirateTV, but he still hopes to pursue his freelance work on the side.
Some of his freelance work includes a documentary with Communications faculty member Dr. James Kimble, titled "Scrappers," which had a world premiere in Nebraska, and a short film titled "Beating Hearts," which will premiere next month in Montreal.
"That's what makes our faculty in this area so great because we are doing stuff in the fastest growing most exciting media in time," Rondinella said. "This is the perfect time to be involved in media and our professors here are so tuned into that and that's what makes the department great."
Nicole Bitette can be reached at nicole.bitette@student.shu.edu
