Campus communication center gets new name, new director

Rice’s Center for Written, Oral and Visual Communication becomes Center for Academic and Professional Communication, overseen by Kyung-Hee Bae

Rice’s Program in Writing and Communication (PWC) recently announced two significant changes made over the summer: The Center for Written, Oral and Visual Communication changed its name to the Center for Academic and Professional Communication (CAPC), and Kyung-Hee Bae was named director.

Kyung-Hee Bae is the new director of the Center for Academic and Professional Communication.

The name change will not affect the services or location of the CAPC, which remains housed on the second floor of Fondren Library.

“The CAPC will continue to offer one-on-one consultations to Rice students, faculty and staff on improving their communication skills,” said Jennifer Wilson ‘93, who was named the new director of the PWC last month. “The CAPC also will continue to support faculty members across campus who are interested in improving how they teach students to communicate their ideas and research.”

Since her promotion became official Aug. 20, Bae has hit the ground running. “One of my main goals for the center is, of course, to help any member of the Rice community become more successful at communicating their ideas and research to a wide variety of audiences,” she said. “I actually believe that most of us already have tools to successfully communicate our ideas. What we do at the center is to work with writers and presenters to help them discover, sharpen and utilize the tools that they already have to achieve whichever communicative goal they have in mind.”

Prior to taking the reins as director of the CAPC, Bae served as the associate director of the center since its inception in 2012. Bae’s broad background in communications includes a decade spent at the University of Houston’s writing and communications center, where she oversaw a number of innovative programs, according to Wilson. Bae holds a master’s degree in applied linguistics.

Bae has also done extensive work in English as a Second Language (ESL) writing and pedagogy and created programs targeted towards students in the STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) disciplines. Her recent publications include a chapter in Generation 1.5 in College Composition: Teaching Academic Writing to U.S.-Educated Learners of ESL.

Look for the CAPC on the second floor of Fondren Library. (Photo by Jeff Fitlow)

Wilson spoke fondly about returning to her alma mater in 2012 to lead the center. Today, she’s equally excited about seeing where Bae takes it. “I know I’m leaving it in terrific hands with Kyung-Hee,” said Wilson.

Bae is ready, with a fall programming lineup at the CAPC that includes a campus-wide faculty workshop on supporting graduate student writers Sep. 26.

“Based on what we often hear from faculty members across campus — and based on our own experiences — we understand that while most faculty advisors recognize and understand their graduate students’ communicative needs, it is often challenging to address those needs in an appropriate and effective manner,” said Bae. “Through this workshop we hope to share insights and strategies for supporting graduate student writers.”

Other upcoming workshops include “University Communication Skills: The Essentials,” a single-session workshop for first-year undergraduates Sep. 12 that covers topics such as how to participate in class, how to talk to your professors and how to write appropriate emails to instructors; “Conference Poster Design: Layout, Whitespace & Visual Cues” for undergraduate students Oct. 4; “Designing Graphics & Diagrams for Posters & Presentations” for undergraduates Oct. 10; and “Getting Over Procrastination” Oct. 30 and Nov. 8, a workshop aimed at overcoming obstacles to progress that is open to all Rice students, faculty and staff.