The Triangle

Issue date: 11/6/09 Section: News

Media Credit: Michelle Brown

Media Credit: Michelle Brown

Drexel has announced Wesley Shumar as the new head of the Department of Culture and Communication, which is part of the College of Arts and Sciences. The appointment became effective Sep. 1.

After the previous department head, Douglas Porpora, stepped down from the position, Drexel implemented an internal search to find a replacement, according to Shumar.

Shumar expressed interest in the position after being nominated and was eventually chosen by a faculty committee.

Shumar said he is "interested in being involved in the future direction of this department."

Shumar said he hopes to continue some of the department's recent initiatives, including the recently implemented PhD program, which began this academic year. Culture and Communication is the second humanities-based department in the College of Arts and Sciences to implement such a program, after the department of Psychology.

"I'd like to see the doctoral program continue to develop and get strong," Shumar said.

Shumar also said he hopes to continue attempting to increase awareness of the department and its programs among current and prospective Drexel students.

The department has "grown quite a lot," he said.

As department head, Shumar will continue to teach and work on other projects.

Shumar, a cultural anthropologist, is specifically interested in anthropology in higher education and online education.

Shumar said his focus on higher and online education is rare among anthropologists and that many anthropologists who study education focus on high school or younger ages.

Shumar's interest in higher education was sparked by changes made to colleges in the 1980s. These changes, Shumar said, included increased marketing that helped turn colleges into more of a consumer business. Such a process has had both positive and negative results, he said.

Shumar began studying online education after arriving at Drexel. He has worked with Drexel's Math Forum, which according to its Web site is a mathematics and math education themed online community for students, teachers, researchers and others. The forum is run by Drexel's School of Education.

Shumar has studied the Math Forum's online communities and how well the project and its communities meet their goals as part of his role as an ethnographer for the organization.

"I have a very collaborative relationship with [the Math Forum], so we're always talking," Shumar said.

In addition to his work with the School of Education, Shumar has also teamed with the College of Information Science and Technology on projects involving the Math Forum and other topics.

Shumar said such communication between departments and colleges is one of his favorite aspects of Drexel.

"We have a very interdisciplinary and collaborative culture," Shumar said.

Shumar also values Drexel's emphasis on technology.

Shumar received a Bachelor's degree in cultural anthropology from the University of Pennsylvania, a Master's degree in cinema studies from New York University and a Ph.D. in cultural anthropology from Temple University.

Shumar served as the department of Culture and Communications interim head from 2006 to 2007 and as assistant department head from 2007 to 2009.

He has taught at Drexel since 1999.

According to its Web site, the Department of Culture and Communications includes programs in Anthropology, Communication, Criminal Justice, Modern Language, Sociology and Environmental Policy.

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