In celebration of the college’s history, old and new colleagues and friends gathered in the College of Media & Communication’s building to take a journey to the past.

The room was filled with students, alumni, faculty and staff, all who gathered in anticipation of what a blast from the past would reveal. The excitement was palpable as former College of Media & Communication faculty laughed over old stories while current students and faculty eagerly listened.  

With remarks from Jerry C. Hudson, the retired founding dean of the college, the crowd got a glimpse of the hard work and dedication put in by the pioneers who were the inaugural faculty.  

The room had not only alumni, but also current students, local Lubbock Avalanche-Journal and KCBD News Channel 11 reporters, excited to see what the capsule held. All walks of life enjoyed the ceremony, where both retired faculty and young children sat side by side.  

Hudson took time to dedicate the moment to Billy I. Ross, the original chair of the Department of Mass Communications, which would later become the College of Media & Communication. Hudson said without Ross’ instrumental moves in securing the building that housed the school and the time capsule, the celebration would not have been possible.  

Throughout Hudson’s telling of the college’s history, there seemed to be a collective feeling of appreciation for the perseverance of those involved. Smiles were thrown around the room when Hudson said Ross was “riding on high clouds” when Mass Communications finally had its own building once construction was completed in June 1976.  

In later years, the college fought hard to be designated as such and to add a Ph.D. program. Hudson said there were many setbacks, such as the oil bust in the 1990s. However, after decades of perseverance, it was officially a college in 2004 and was accepted to house a doctoral program in 2005.  

“So did it all work out?” Hudson asked the audience. “Did it work out like we had planned?”  

Hudson finished his speech emphasizing not only the great percentage of growth the college has experienced, but also the numerous individuals crucial to its success and creation. 

“I feel confident that there were a lot of people - you just name almost anybody who was employed at that time,” Hudson said, “who were instrumental in making separate school status and the Ph.D. a reality.” 

The 50-year-old time capsule was opened Feb. 10 by Chris Cook, assistant dean of Enrollment Management and Marketing for the college. The box contained artifacts from Sept. 9, 1975, the day it was sealed. 

“Today we open not just a capsule, but a window into the mid-1970s,” Cook said. “A time when communication disciplines were laid - the groundwork for what would become our College of Media & Communication.” 

Items within the box included a University Daily – now The Daily Toreador - newspaper, Charter Day printed programs, KCBD-TV and KFYO-AM tapes along with numerous other pieces of the college’s history. 

Lynn Whitfield, archivist for the Southwest Collection and Special Collections Library, said the time capsule was a surprise to her, containing pieces of the college’s past which were not already accounted for in the archives.  

The condition of the objects also surprised Whitfield. She said the white box contained a metal box, and within that box was a black garbage bag that disintegrated the moment one touched it which contained the various historical objects.  

Whitfield attributed the pristine condition of the objects to the semi-arid climate of West Texas. 

What is now known as the College of Media & Communication has not always been. Bill Dean, associate professor emeritus, recounted how the college transformed from the days when he said walking through the second floor of the original building one would encounter 99 percent of the faculty. 

“It's quite a bit larger. We started as a department of journalism, and then it became a department of mass communications, and then a school, and now a college,” Dean said. “So, it's been a journey. It's been remarkable.” 

Though the college has experienced exponential growth over the past half-century, Cook said the goals of the college remain the same.  

“As we bridge these 50 years from departments to college,” Cook said, “we're reminded that while technology and methods may change, our core mission of fostering communication excellence remains unchanged.”