Over the past six months, the students at Rowan University have borne witness to significant change within the recently-renamed Ric Edelman College of Communication, Humanities & Social Sciences (CCHSS).

Previously named the Ric Edelman College of Communication & Creative Arts (CCCA), the college split into two separate entities beginning in the Fall 2025 semester: the College of Communication merged with the previous College of Humanities & Social Sciences, and the College of Creative Arts merged with the previous College of Performing Arts.

Within the creation of the CCHSS, there is a committee that works to make this transition smooth. This committee is headed by professors William Carrigan and Emil Steiner, as well as CCHSS Dean Nawal Ammar.

The merger serves as a landmark of continued growth at Rowan, especially for the CCHSS. All students will have to take a class within the CCHSS, whether that be a writing arts class or public speaking, making it the second-largest college at the university after the College of Science and Mathematics. 

“I feel the merger, as well as our new footprint, will make us unavoidable,” said Associate Dean Stephen Fleming. “Every student will have to take a class in our college at one point; we serve the entire university, unlike a college like engineering.”

With the new college will come a brand new building on the older side of campus near Bunce Hall. This building will be the new and improved home for the college and will be located on the current parking lot H-1. This building, taking over a parking lot, will raise a lot of concern from students who are already struggling with finding parking on campus as it is. 

“We’re going to have to be resourced,” said Fleming. “We need to be judicious about our spending but also make sure the behemoth majors like Sports Communications and Law and Justice get what they need.”

Aside from the location, the new building will most likely be a place where many students can go to work and have the opportunity for hands-on learning. This structure will hold a new television studio, control room, and multimedia editing labs. The space will serve multiple purposes, where students from all majors will utilize it to learn. Alongside studios, there will also be a Dreamscape lab as well as collaboration rooms. Currently, there is no intention to have any faculty offices in this building.

The creation of the CCHSS also makes cross-education easier, as crossing college lines will no longer be necessary for many students with double majors or minors. A student who wants to pursue radio, TV, and film but specializes in the history of the subject will now have easier access to a well-rounded education. 

“It’s about how students can distinguish themselves. If a sports communications student wants to, they can add a certificate in a language to diversify themselves,” said Carrigan.

Dean Ammar will be overseeing 30 undergraduate programs as well as 10 graduate programs within this college. It will be a hard task to make sure the larger majors like Sports Communications and Media do not overtake the new resources that will be given to the students. It is important to make sure that majors that may not be as new or growing as quickly receive the same attention that the larger ones do. If this new college has what it takes to be the largest at Rowan and overtake number one, it needs all of the students’ support and participation to do so. 

“We want to benefit the students, and what benefits them is options,” said Dean Ammar. “The interdisciplinary nature of it the college would be seamless.”

The greatest challenge for this merger is maintaining the support of students. Students are the base of every college’s success, and with their support, it can crumble quickly. With the new building taking up another parking lot, this college starts on the wrong foot with many students. However, Dean Ammar and her committee are committed to doing what is best for the students, as well as what will bring in students who are determined to succeed and ready to learn.

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