Life in a Fishbowl: The evolution of the communication center as a sustainable component of institutional culture

Abstract

In 2015, Kathleen Turner offered several benefits of Communication Center research and mentioned areas for future study. Turner (2015) believes that communication center directors would benefit from research that crosses institutional boundaries and contexts.  Further, it is important that communication center directors demonstrate what clients have gained from the center.  We must continue to recognize that “clients” are multi-faceted and our communication center spaces serve students, faculty, staff, administrators and the institution.  Thus, this manuscript will, as Turner (2015) pleaded, help others think through how to “enhance their communication centers with clients, colleagues, and communities” (p. 3). Ultimately, it is important for center staff, as well as affiliated faculty and administrators, to concern ourselves with how the center integrates itself as part of the institution’s culture.