BY SAMANTHA GRISWOLD
managing editor, news
Gannon University’s School of Communication and the Arts has found itself looking for a director once again.
The former director, Ralph Frasca, Ph.D., was terminated from his position, effective immediately, on Jan. 10, the day after Gannon’s spring semester began. Frasca had been working for the university since August.
The reason for Frasca’s departure is unknown. Linda Fleming, Ph.D., dean of the College of Humanities, Education and Social Sciences, said Tuesday that she was not at liberty to comment on Frasca’s departure.
Mary Carol “MC” Gensheimer and the Rev. Shawn Clerkin have been asked to step up as co-directors for the school until a new director can be appointed.
Both Gensheimer and Clerkin also declined to comment on Frasca’s departure from the university, citing legal reasons prevented them from doing so.
During his time at Gannon, Frasca taught Media Ethics and a History of Communications class. He was slated to teach a Media Law class during the spring semester, but the class was canceled.
Students were surprised to learn Frasca was no longer with the university.
“[Frasca] was a cool guy,” Cory Johnson, a senior communication arts major said.
“He had a funny personality and was always in a good mood. To be honest, I have no idea why he got fired.”
Alexandria Brown, a junior communication arts major, said that she had Frasca as a professor and that he made coming to class a pleasure.
“He was smart and funny,” Brown said. “He always made me think of flashbacks because he was so realistic when telling stories.
“I don’t know why he was fired but I am sorry to see him go.”
Before coming to Gannon, Frasca was the chair of the Department of Communications at Mount St. Mary’s University in Emmitsburg, Md. He also taught at several other universities before that.
According to an article that was previously published in The Gannon Knight, Frasca said he wanted to increase the number of students in the School of Communication and the Arts and that he and the faculty were talking about revising the curriculum to appeal to more students.
SAMANTHA GRISWOLD
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