Abstract
This article interrogates whether speech communication departments should pursue disciplinary coherence or embrace pragmatic opportunism while adapting to shifting institutional environments. Through case study analysis of structural evolution at a land grant university and a suburban research campus, it traces how size, articulation mandates, physical facilities, campus politics, curricular demand, public image, and faculty composition interact to shape organizational structure, program identity, governance, and resource allocation. A systems theory perspective yields ten planning criteria, showing that alignment with local contingencies rather than idealized disciplinary purity sustains enrollment stability, instructional quality, and faculty legitimacy. By framing communication studies as a socially constructed academic culture within higher education, this article offers administrators, planners, and scholars an evidence grounded diagnostic framework for strategic restructuring, resource planning, and long term departmental resilience.
Recommended Citation
Crisp, Lloyd and Seibert, David
(1990)
"Planning Departmental Structure: Disciplinary Integrity Versus Pragmatic Opportunism,"
Association for Communication Administration Bulletin: Vol. 71, Article 8.
Available at:
https://stars.library.ucf.edu/aca/vol71/iss1/8
