Communication Centers and Oral Communication Programs in Higher Education

[The book] is a strong collection of essays. . . .This edited book aims to address those involved [in higher education] including tutors, directors, faculty, administrators, scholars, and others involved in higher education. . . .Overall the editors were successful in compiling a book of articles grounded in research and current theories to articulate the value, growth, and development of communication centers. . . .[the book] was truly well developed for all us in higher education in multiple disciplines. . . .It is critical that this book be used as a resources and guide not simply for conversation but for action in solving more of the oral communication competency issues that we are increasingly confronted with from various angles. * Communication Research Trends *
“Publication of findings pointing to the value of communication centers and speaking-intensive across-the-curriculum programs in higher education has, until now, failed to keep pace with the success of these endeavors. Professors Yook and Atkins-Sayre have assembled the finest minds and energies in this compilation to demonstrate the long-term and wide-ranging advantages available to schools that have embraced such learning enhancements. The wisdom shared in each of these essays reflects decades of experience, relentless testing of theory and revising practices to make possible the advancement of these initiatives so future practitioners will be better equipped to meet the particular needs of the institutions they serve. As enriching and long-overdue as this scholarship may be, the voices behind it would surely agree, that the difference revealed by students who have participated in these programs will be the finest legacy of the pioneering contributors to this essential text.” -- Linda Hobgood, University of Richmond
“This volume offers a variety of interesting ideas that point to the power and promise of communication centers as they support communication across the curriculum. Directors and administrators will benefit from such discussions as how such centers enhance critical thinking, ways of conceptualizing the tutorial process, and the use of computer-mediated communication for virtual tutorials.” -- Kathleen J. Turner
"The editors and contributors are prescient in identifying the need for this compendium of valuable essays. This edited volume on communication centers is a must-read for any faculty member or administrator involved in or considering a center. When we developed our center in the early nineties at the University of Colorado, we would have benefited immensely from access to such useful information." -- Sherwyn Morreale, University of Colorado at Colorado Springs