History of Agricultural Communications at Illinois

The Development of the Academic Program in Agricultural Communications at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

1907- 2025

• Teaching of agricultural journalism and communications at the University of Illinois traces back to 1907 when several professional agricultural journalists were invited to teach a one-term course in agricultural journalism in the College of Agriculture. This pioneering effort was brief because of limited College staffing.
• In 1947, Hadley Read arrived at the University of Illinois as head of the Extension Editorial Office in the College of Agriculture. He established the first continuing course, Agricultural Journalism, during his first year.  It introduced agricultural reporting and other media skills to aspiring Cooperative Extension Service professionals and other interested students in the College.
• During the 1950s, Professor Read and associates explored the need and potential for establishing an undergraduate degree program in this field of interest. They entered into conversations with colleagues in the College of Communications about the possibilities of establishing a joint program.

During the 1960s

• A new major in agricultural communications at the University of Illinois was launched in 1961, offered jointly by the College of Agriculture and the College of Communications. It continues to date and is believed to be one of the early, enduring interdisciplinary and multi-college academic programs at the University of Illinois.

• Jon Greeneisen of the Extension Editorial staff in the College of Agriculture served as an initial leader and advisor on a part-time basis.
• Jim Evans joined the faculty in January 1962 as assistant professor in agricultural communications and coordinator of the teaching and research program.
• The first three students majoring in agricultural communications graduated in 1963.

• Professionals in the Extension Editorial Office provided crucial support for the new program. They actively supported instruction in the two agricultural journalism courses offered at that time. As well, they advised the 70-member Student News and Information Bureau (SNIB) and helped students gain hands-on communications experience through part-time employment in various sections of the Office.
• An Agricultural Communications Industry Advisory Committee was formed during the 1960s to provide professional input for program development. The Committee also helped launch a scholarship program for agricultural communications students.
• In 1968, Illinois students conducted a nationwide survey to assess interest in forming a national student organization in this academic field. Based on favorable responses, a team of students and faculty advisors from the University of Illinois, the University of Missouri, and Iowa State University took steps during 1968 and 1969 to form a new national organization. It would serve college students interested in agricultural journalism and communications. 
• An active agenda in agricultural communications research and evaluation began during this decade.

During the 1970s

• The National Agricultural Communicators of Tomorrow (ACT) student organization was organized in 1970 during a launch conference at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York.  The University of Illinois served as the national ACT headquarters during the next 25 years,
• Enrollment in the major at the University of Illinois passed the 70-student mark during the early 1970s.

• A strategic plan developed in 1970 laid the foundation for new agricultural communications courses and for other initiatives. New agricultural communications courses included Agriculture and Its Publics, Photography in Agriculture, Functional Writing, Extension Communications Management, Teaching College-Level Agriculture, and Special Problems in Agricultural Communications. They served majors and other students. By 1972, nine courses served majors and other students at the undergraduate and graduate levels.
• Graduate assistants were added to serve the expanding program of teaching and research.  

During the 1980s

• Faculty resources in agricultural communications increased through the appointment of Professor Bob Hays and Teaching Associate Bob Siebrecht.  New service courses in Agricultural Sales Communications and Agricultural Leadership Communications were developed in response to needs expressed by departments throughout the College of Agriculture.
• Enrollment in the agricultural communications program remained in the range of 70 to 80 students. By agreement, it was capped due to limited teaching resources available in the College of Communications.
• The Office of Agricultural Communications established a new Program for Agricultural Communications Education (PACE) to help interested universities throughout the world develop or strengthen their academic programs in agricultural/rural communications.  PACE initiatives during this decade included partnerships with universities in Australia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Pakistan, and the West Indies.
• During 1982, a new Agricultural Communications Documentation Center (ACDC) was conceived and formed by the agricultural communications faculty.  It addressed the challenge of identifying and gathering the widely scattered, expanding body of literature about this field of scholarship and practice. By 2015 ACDC was believed to be the largest such collection in existence, totaling more than 40,000 documents involving agriculture-related communications in more than 150 countries.
• A new international exchange program for our agricultural communications students got underway in 1983.  It was an exchange enterprise with students in the Rural Journalism Program at the Western Australian Institute of Technology/Muresk Agriculture College.
• Through faculty collaboration, in 1985 the College of Agriculture formed an Office of Agricultural Communications and Education, which included academic programs in agricultural communications, agricultural education, and extension education. It brought together scattered faculty members who had been in three academic units of two colleges.

During the 1990s

• A proposal to form a new Department of Agricultural Communications and Education was approved by the University Senate in 1995. Jim Evans retired this same year.
• Through a restructuring of the College of Agriculture in 1996, the academic programs in agricultural communications, agricultural education, and extension education became part of a new Department of Human and Community Development within a new College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences (ACES). Agricultural communications faculty and staff at that time were Roger Barnard, Bob Hays (coordinator), Ann Reisner, Bob Siebrecht, and Gerald Walter.  They taught 15 agricultural communications courses at the graduate and undergraduate levels.
• Enrollment in the undergraduate agricultural communications major remained in the range of 70 to 80 students during the 1990s. The academic unit also offered a Master of Science degree in extension education.

During 2000 through 2009

• Budget squeezes, unfortunate timing, programmatic decisions, and organizational restructuring resulted in a decline in agricultural communications staffing.  At the same time, enrollment in the curriculum remained strong, as did enrollments in the declining number of courses that could be offered with reduced staffing. 
• Deans of the College of ACES and Cthe ollege of Media formed a joint committee in December 2006 to consider the future of the agricultural communications program. That effort resulted in a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) approved by the Deans and Provost in mid-2008. It recommended ambitious steps to strengthen this collaboration in a sustainable way. The College of Media would serve as the administrative home for the program. Other parts included innovative sharing, through which students would gain new benefits from both colleges. A core of three agricultural communications faculty members would include sustained, senior leadership through a new endowed chair to be established through external funding. 
• During late 2008, alumni and the College of ACES launched a $2 million campaign to provide funding for a new endowed chair in agricultural communications.
• Members of a joint committee developed a new academic framework for the program during 2009. The framework introduced “Six dimensions for excellence in agricultural communications at the University of Illinois.”

2010 through 2015

• A joint committee developed a “Strategic Plan for Teaching” during 2010, as a guide for assuring integrated courses and curricula matched to the needs of employers in various parts of the agricultural journalism and communications career field.
• Katie Abrams joined the faculty in August 2010 as an assistant professor in agricultural communications and provided excellent service until her departure in mid-2013. Samantha Koon joined the program that fall as lecturer, replacing Bob Siebrecht as he retired. Professor Lulu Rodriguez also joined the faculty during 2013 as director of the agricultural communications program.  
• The $2 million endowment campaign was completed successfully during 2013, making possible what is believed to be the nation’s first endowed chair in agricultural communications.
• Several existing courses were strengthened and new courses were introduced, beginning in 2014. They dovetailed with recommendations in the 2010 strategic plan for teaching:  Course additions included Media Communications in Agriculture, Agricultural and Environmental Photography and Visual Principles for Ag Communicators.
• Plans for curriculum revisions also got underway during 2014. The joint Agricultural Communications Program Committee guided planning for these and other academic initiatives.
• With increased faculty resources in place, enrollment in the undergraduate agricultural communications major was able to expand, with excellent students.
• In September 2015, a new MOU was established between the College of ACES and the College of Media. It continued the program as jointly sponsored, but relocated the administrative home and the agricultural communications major back to the College of ACES. It was approved by both Deans and the Provost. New freshmen and transfer students would be admitted to the program through the College of ACES, beginning in fall 2017.

2015 through to 2025

• Owen Roberts joined the faculty in December 2020 and was named program director shortly after, serving in this role until his departure in July 2025. Eric Morgan joined the program as an associate professor in 2021. Pam Axtman-Barker joined as a teaching assistant professor in 2023, with Chris Wirtz joining the faculty in 2025. AGCM students were hired as ALEC communications interns to handle the unit’s social media needs and other communications activities.  
• A variety of new, innovative courses were added to reflect changing technologies within the agricultural communications field and to give students more real-world, hands-on experience. These included Social Media Management in Agricultural Communications, International Agricultural Communications, Write Like a Pro, Science Communications, Environmental Communication,s and Let’s Talk About Food, Agriculture, and the Environment.
• Spring 2022 introduced the course Publication Development and Production, in which students write and produce a full magazine from start to finish. The magazine, entitled The Morrow, is written by students to communicate about the ALEC program. Three editions have been published.
• Plans for a new agricultural communications center, named the James F. Evans Global Center for Food and Agricultural Communications (a.k.a. the Evans Center), were announced in March 2024. The center will serve as a hub for agricultural communications research, outreach, and professional development, and will be integrated into the agricultural communications unit’s academic programming. College of ACS staff and AGCM alumni have teamed up to lead the center’s fundraising efforts.
• A partnership was announced in May 2025 between ACES and the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists (IFAJ) to develop an online certificate in global agricultural communications. Content development for the certificate will be led by AGCM faculty, working with IFAJ officials. It is expected that the certificate will be one of the first outputs of the Evans Center.   
• Today, the agricultural communications program continues to grow and flourish with 40 students enrolled for the fall 2025 semester.

Authors of this history are Jim Evans, Brooklyne Luessenheide and Owen Roberts.