Dr. Julie Larson is set to retire this May after decades spent serving TMU鈥檚 communication program.
Larson鈥檚 focus on spoken communication, rhetoric, and critical thinking has prepared her students for graduate programs across the country. Photo by Josephine Lee.
Several months ago, a student paused before class to ask Dr. Julie Larson how she was feeling about her upcoming retirement. She laughed.
鈥淚鈥檓 too busy to be sad,鈥 she said.
But with the passage of time, the tears began to catch up. After what she鈥檚 described as a 鈥渕arvelous forty years of teaching鈥 in the communication department she helped to found, Larson is retiring from The 国产aa福利 in May.
She described her career with a hint of wonder: 鈥淚t鈥檚 a dream come true, and a fulfillment of my passion ever since I became a believer.鈥
The dream started during her last semester as an English student at the University of Southern California.
鈥淚 was sitting in the back row, just listening, and I said, 鈥楪od, this is what I want to do for the rest of my life. I want to teach 国产aa福利ians at a 国产aa福利ian school how to think critically in order that they might be able to better evangelize for you.鈥欌
Larson鈥檚 singular mission statement never changed. It brought her to TMU in 1983, where she was first tasked with teaching general education spoken communication courses. The school only had about 250 students, and the previous communication degree 鈥 an interdisciplinary program helmed by a single faculty member 鈥 had been discontinued.
But in 1985, Larson was hired full-time 鈥 the same year that Dr. John MacArthur came to head the college, which soon saw its enrollment numbers double and triple. Students began to ask for the resurrection of the communication major. Larson finally took the query up to Dr. John Stead, then vice president of academic affairs.
鈥淲hat should I tell the students?鈥 she asked.
She remembers that Stead remained quiet in thought for several minutes.
鈥淔inally, he turns around, looks at me and says, 鈥榃ell, the fastest way for us to do that is if you started it. Do you want to?鈥欌
Larson, fresh off of earning a master鈥檚 degree in rhetoric and literature, didn鈥檛 have to think long. 鈥淚 thought, 鈥業f he has enough confidence in me to start a program, then I’m going to give it a try.鈥欌
Larson still calls Stead 鈥渙ne of the greatest mentors of my entire life.鈥 With his support, she went on to develop the communication department from scratch. When the first students joined in 1986, there were three emphases: speech, writing, and electronic media.
Since then, the department has bounded from one milestone to the next, adding new emphases, faculty, and resources. Larson has worked with several department chairs in her tenure, even briefly chairing herself. But through the program鈥檚 expansion, she has vigilantly held to the national accreditation standards, a benchmark for student learning outcomes.
Larson is dedicated to preserving what she believes to be the crucial, classical foundation of academics: speech, writing, and critical thinking. Core courses she taught included heavy-hitters like Rhetorical Criticism, Argumentation and Debate, and Interpersonal Communication.
Pupils entering a Larson class for the first time often had to find their bearings when they encountered the intellectual demands of her coursework. Prof. Peter Shickle, assistant professor of communication at TMU, remembers sitting under her instruction as a TMC student two decades ago.
鈥淪he holds you to a higher level,鈥 Shickle said. 鈥淪he wants you to think for yourself. And I think that鈥檚 why her classes can seem to be a struggle, because people are not always used to being pushed that way.鈥
The fruits of Larson鈥檚 academic rigor are evident in the dozens of students who have transitioned from her classrooms into graduate schools and law programs across the country.
As she retires, Larson believes it is most important for the program to remain a training ground for the essentials: teaching students 鈥渉ow to write well, how to think critically, how to do research and cite sources accurately, how to deliver a good speech, and how to understand concepts and ideas.鈥
It鈥檚 that passion for helping young men and women communicate for 国产aa福利, semester after semester, that is perhaps Larson鈥檚 greatest legacy.
Shickle said simply, 鈥淚 would not be where I am today without her.鈥
Learn more about TMU鈥檚 Communications department at masters.edu/communication.
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