The Agricultural Communications Discipline in the 21st Century: Moving from Surviving to Thriving

Abstract

One hundred fifty years after the establishment of the land grant colleges (Morrill Act of 1862, Irani & Doerfert (2013) shared an optimistic view of the future of agricultural communications in the new century. Now they are back with a new commentary, focusing, in a time of immense transformational change in the academy, on the critical importance of faculty development in a new age and a new reality. The authors indicate that rapid technological innovation, especially AI, coupled with disciplinary maturation and growth amid the changing higher ed landscape make it imperative for faculty members, their academic institutions, and the profession to prioritize development programs for each stage in a typical tenure or non-tenure track faculty career. They argue that these challenges have brought additional complexity to the process, with respect to what it takes to succeed at reaching the traditional milestones of tenure and promotion. They provide specific recommendations and offer insight on potential pitfalls and challenges which might occur at specific points in the faculty development process, including a look at those often faced by mid- and late-career stage faculty. They conclude with a call to action for the profession, calling for faculty development more strategically focused on the tenure and promotion process as an instrument of change vital to not only the success of individual faculty, but to the continued growth and sustainability of the profession itself.

Recommended Citation

Doerfert, David L. and Irani, Tracy (2026) "The Agricultural Communications Discipline in the 21st Century: Moving from Surviving to Thriving," Journal of Applied Communications: Vol. 110: Iss. 1.