Beginning this semester, the Nackey S. Loeb School of Communications will begin running its curriculum, using the New Hampshire Institute of Politics building.
This self-described “Strategic Alliance” combines the awareness, outreach, history, and curriculum of the NHIOP and the Loeb School. Loeb’s goal is to provide public and free classes in the areas of communication and civics.
The Nackey S. Loeb School of Communications specifically focuses on the integrity and excellence of journalism and the importance of the First Amendment. The Loeb School, a private non-profit organization, was founded in 1999 by Nackey S. Loeb, the late president and publisher of the Union Leader and New Hampshire Sunday News.
When asked about this collaboration with the Nackey S. Loeb School, Neil Levesque, the Director of the NHIOP, describes it as “very fitting” because of the two organization’s similarities. According to Levesque, the NHIOP was interested in teamwork because of their partnerships in the past and the Loeb School’s long-established professionalism in education.
The Loeb School made a statement about the school’s new location: “In the past three years, through a global pandemic, the Nackey S. Loeb School has demonstrated tremendous resilience, including the successful transition from a long-time executive director to new leadership and the introduction of new educational content in misinformation, community journalism, and emerging communications technology.
“I now truly understand what Benedictine hospitality means,” said Laura Simoes, Executive Director of the Loeb School.
“In response to changing needs and opportunities, we sold our school building and have begun a transformational strategic alliance with the New Hampshire Institute of Politics at Saint Anselm College, where we will explore ways to sustain and expand our educational mission.” Simoes agrees that both organizations’ similar missions allowed for this collaboration to work so well. The NHIOP and Loeb are invested in the well-being of citizens and democracy, which is why they focus on civic awareness and education. The NHIOP’s long-standing platform of bipartisan involvement in the political sphere is complemented by Loeb’s influential and growing role in journalism, media literacy, and civil discourse education.
Despite the excitement on behalf of the Loeb School and NHIOP, some members of the Communication Department have expressed concern over the lack of communication that has transpired. With the Loeb School offering services in the field of communication and journalism, Professor Marcheselli and Professor Lupo of the Communication Program have reservations about the overlap between the two organizations. They said in a joint statement, “The Communication Program faculty were surprised to discover through a press release that the NHIOP now houses a privately owned ‘school of communications’. We’re open to collaboration, but the physical and online presence of a ‘school of communications’ creates optics problems. How will prospective students on tour understand the ‘school’ at the NHIOP in relation to our major? What about prospective students who google ‘communications at Saint Anselm College?’ We’d also like to know if there are any parameters around what courses Loeb can offer. When Centers and Institutes at the college decide to form strategic partnerships, their directors need to contact related departments and faculty so that we can collaborate and find solutions to these sorts of problems together. We’ve never been contacted.”
The Nackey S. Loeb School’s goal is to provide education on the First Amendment and to promote journalism to all ages and backgrounds. One course began this semester on “Misinformation, Artificial Intelligence, and the Media ”, classes will be held from Sept. 20 through Oct. 11 on Wednesdays from 5:30 to 7. Another course being offered this semester is “Messaging your Mission ”, held on the same dates and time as the previously mentioned course. This course teaches professionals and business leaders communication skills to improve their message and enhance their brand. “Our classes are meant for the enrichment of Saint Anselm students”, said Simoes.
All classes are open to the public, after registering, with no pre-requirements or work to fulfill, and they are completely free of charge as well. The most notable upcoming course offered by Loeb is “Afterwords”, conversations key to the School’s media literacy and civic education goals. The three events will be on ethics and media, presidential politics in New Hampshire, and the empowerment of democracy. These conversations will be hosted by Saint Anselm’s Associate Director at the Center for Ethics in Society Violet Victoria, the NHIOP’s Neil Levesque, and Director of Research & Analysis for Citizens Count Anna Brown. Students and staff who are interested in these courses can find links at the bottom.
This year’s First Amendment Award will be hosted by the NHIOP on Thursday, October 4th at 4 o’clock. The award will be presented to Honoree Gilles Bissonnette, ACLU-NH’s Legal Director. The Nackey S. Loeb awards individuals or groups who have upheld, defended, and enhanced the First Amendment in an extraordinary way.
According to Loeb, “Bissonnette was nominated for his work with stakeholders to improve the public’s right of access to information so the public can hold the government accountable, including a successful legal effort to reverse a 27-year-old precedent from 1993 that shielded the personnel files of government employees, including law enforcement, from public view.” Because of extraordinary circumstances, The Loeb School will be presenting another award. “In addition to Bissonnette, New Hampshire Public Radio was also celebrated as the recipient of The Nackey S. Loeb School’s Quill & Ink Award, not given annually, but reserved to recognize significant contributions to the First Amendment. NHPR is being honored for continuing to report the news, even as some of its staff were threatened with violence and had their homes vandalized.” One of the victims of the vandalism is Lauren Chooljian, for her research and allegations raised in her NHPR Podcast, “The 13th Step”. Lauren Chooljian graduated from Saint Anselm College in 2010 with a Bachelor’s in History.
The Nackey S. Loeb School hopes to have more Saint Anselm students get involved with its curriculum and have potential opportunities for student internships in the future. The Loeb School hopes that this teamwork with the NHIOP, and overall Saint Anselm, will provide new opportunities and utilization of the space. Laura Simoes stated, “We want to stretch ourselves into new things and find new ways to strengthen journalism because strong journalism means a strong democracy. The opportunity the NHIOP has given allows us to do the work that we need to do, and we hope it will be transformational for both organizations.”
The relationship between Saint Anselm College and the Loeb School is unclear at this time, as the partnership currently exists solely with the NHIOP. As Professors Marchiselli and Lupo indicated above, it seems there needs to be a conversation that brings communication faculty to the table in order to discuss how the Loeb School fits in academically.