Ralph Barney

From College of Fine Arts and Communications

In January of 1985, Ralph Barney was made the sixteenth chair of the Communications Department. When College Dean James Mason initially asked Barney to fill the position, Barney warned him that he felt he would not do a good job, but accepted anyway.

Over the next year, until September 1986, Barney worked to fulfill three major goals.

The first was to help the program evolve into a "world-class" program which would be respected by the university as well as throughout the nation.

Secondly, Barney wanted The Daily Universe to become more dynaminc, offering more news which was appealing to students and member of the BYU community.

Thirdly, Barney made a proposal for the contruction of a new School of Communications Building to be located near the Grant Building. In conjunction with this goal, Barney oversaw fundraising efforts. The building, however, was never constructed.

By September 1986, Barney had lost the apporval of the faculty and was replaced as chair by Gordon Whiting (Pratte, 32).

References

• Somewhere Between Mount Olympus and Mount Everest, Paul Alfred Pratte, 2003.