A new office is being set up in Mendocino Hall to welcome the new chair of the Department of Communication Studies, Kimo Ah Yun. The Sacramento State graduate and long-time faculty member is taking on the position with plans to make curriculum changes to the department.

Ah Yun was previously director of the Department for Teaching and Learning; he said he hopes to improve student learning while bridging the gap between administration and faculty.

When Ah Yun graduated from the communication studies department at Sac State in 1988, he had no aspirations of returning to work for Sac State. Instead, he went on to pursue his master’s degree at Kansas State University and then his doctorate at Michigan State University. Yet somehow, he found his way back to Sac State and in 1996, Ah Yun was hired as a faculty member in the Department of Communication.

“When I was hired here in 1996, many of the faculty members that were on faculty at the time were former professors of mine,” Ah Yun said.

One of those professors is Nick Burnett, who was Ah Yun’s predecessor as department chair. When Ah Yun was a Sac State student and a member of the school’s debate team, Burnett was his debate coach.

“He ultimately was probably the most successful debater in Sac State history,” Burnett said.

Being Ah Yun’s coach, Burnett got to see many sides of him.

“We went to a number of big tournaments, not just in northern California but really around the country and so I saw him at his best and his worst,” Burnett said. “Let’s just say that I was often the butt of practical jokes played by the debate team on their coach, but that’s OK, I forgive him for that.”

Seeing Ah Yun taking over his position as chair of the department after so many years is kind of weird, Burnett said.

“It makes me feel old, but that’s OK,” Burnett said. “Good teachers are supposed to feel proud of the accomplishments of their students and I certainly feel proud of what Kimo has been able to go on and do.”

Lawrence Chase, another former professor of Ah Yun’s and a current professor of communication, is also happy with Ah Yun’s new position.

“I can’t think of a better person to succeed Nick. Nick did a great job and I think Kimo is going to do a great job as well,” Chase said. “He’s got a real good work ethic. He knows how to work with people, to bring out the best in them.”

Ah Yun’s work ethic is already evident. Even though Ah Yun just stepped into the department chair position Jan. 3, he already met with faculty members to decide on necessary curriculum changes.

“We had discussions about rethinking the curriculum and we’ve reached a point where we thought we have to divide the curriculum into two broad areas,” Ah Yun said. “We call that our professional track and our non-professional track.”

Although a specific curriculum model has not yet been agreed upon, Ah Yun said one of the options is a model that will allow students to choose from a larger number of courses to meet the same major requirements.

These curriculum changes are only the beginnings of what Ah Yun wants to accomplish as chair of the communication studies department.

“This is an exciting time … to be a chair of a department, an especially large department, to make smart decisions about how you infuse money back into your programs so you’re building something really strong,” Ah Yun said. “I’m really looking forward to that.”

Others are also hopeful about Ah Yun’s future endeavors.

“I’ll be disappointed if a few years down the road he isn’t a provost or a university president somewhere. He’s that good,” said Val Smith, professor of communication studies.

Inna Gritsak can be reached at [email protected]