Page 78 - Senior Link Magazine Winter 2023 - Online Magazine

HONORING SENIORS

TTU CoMC

PAST, PRESENT & FUTURE

by Calan Johnson

photo credit James D Loss

hen it comes to the plethora of colleges that By the year 1970, the study of advertising was
call Texas Tech University home, and maybe transferred to the newly formed Department of Mass
Wbecause of the exponential changes in the Communication, which comprised journalism and
realm of disseminating information, few have a more television. Construction of the new $3.5 million Mass
interesting and circuitous past than the College of Media Communication Building began on March 22, 1974, and
& Communication (CoMC). was finished in February 1976. The new structure was
able to accommodate 1,000 students.
CoMC has a rich history. The first journalism courses
at Tech were listed in the college catalog within the As construction wrapped up, Wendell Mayes, a Texas
Department of English. Those classes emphasized writing Tech alumnus with a degree in engineering, was named
for newspapers, magazines, and books. Between 1926 Chairman of the Board of Regents. In 1978, he was
and 1931, a professor named Cecil Horne taught all the inducted into the Texas Tech Mass Communication Hall
journalism classes. of Fame after serving as chair of the Texas Tech Mass
Communications Advisory Committee.
Mayes served as the keynote speaker
at the dedication of the Mass
Communication building on Oct.
15, 1976. It is said that, during his
presentation, Mayes dismissed the idea
of discussing the numerical values that
it took to build the structure, such as
construction costs and material fees.
However, Mayes used his platform to
highlight the impact that the content
presented in the classrooms would
bring not only to students, but also to
society.

Per the College of Media &
Communication historical online
catalog, “This building has for
photo credit James D Loss its purpose the training and the

78 Lubbock Senior Link