Author: osmc-admin

A Celebration of Life Service for Olivet School of Media and Communication (OSMC) Dean, beloved senior professor, and mentor Rev. Dr. David James Randolph, was held on Saturday, May 14 at Albany United Methodist Church, California.

Several Olivet University leaders including Dr. William Wagner, Board Chairman Dr. Nate Tran, Chief Operating Officer Dr. Walker Tzeng, and San Francisco Campus Director Dr. Joseph Lee attended the service. The congregation shared the loving memories of Dr. Randolph as a friend and pastor, remembering the teachings that he has given to those whom he mentored.

Dr. Walker Tzeng gave a short speech. He acknowledged Dr. Randolph’s precious guidance while serving as the president of Olivet University from 2006 to 2009. Dr. Randolph has demonstrated grace-filled leadership to the then very young faculty and staff team, contributing to the university’s initial accreditation by the Association for Biblical Higher Education (ABHE) in February 2009. Dr. Tzeng gives thanks to God for Dr. Randolph’s life and ministry.

Following his tenure as University President, Dr. Randolph was named the Dean of Olivet School of Media and Communication (formerly Olivet College of Journalism) in February 2011. He faithfully responded to God’s calling to bridge the church and society through his work, which continues to inspire OSMC students to become messengers of the truth in the mass media today. Dr. Randolph is honored with a namesake library by OSMC in October 2021.

OSMC prepared a video ‘In Memoriam: Rev. Dr. David James Randolph’ for his celebration of life service. The video featured precious photos of him serving at Olivet, clips from his sermons, and a short tribute from Olivet School of Art and Design Dean Dr. Joan Carter. 

In the video, Dr. Randolph was preaching to Olivet students at Commencement 2009 saying, “The greatest adventure is to join with others in community, unite deep faith, and transform the world for the biblical vision of love and justice and the kingdom of God. This is the greatest adventure and I call you to it today.” This message summarizes Dr. Randolph’s lifelong passion and pursuit of justice, peace, and truth, encouraging everyone to live likewise. 

Dr. Randolph had lived an abundant life for the kingdom of God. As a faithful disciple of Jesus Christ, he has done all that he was called to do and finished the race all the way through. Dr. Randolph now rests in peace with our Lord in heaven, but he will be missed by all the friends and families of Olivet. His teachings about the Christians’ mission in media, arts, and technology will continue to inspire many generations of Olivet students.

Olivet School of Media and Communication (OSMC) reports the progress of David James Randolph Library renovation.

Since the namesake library for OSMC Dean Dr. David James Randolph was announced, OSMC designated a 2,000-square-feet space to set up the library. The vision for the David James Randolph Library is to provide access to resources that will be useful for nurturing those who are called to serve in the media and the arts. A collection of books, journals, multimedia, technical manuals, and other relevant materials related to the media profession is being meticulously curated. The library’s purpose is to allow students the opportunity to learn from those who came before them in hopes that the nations and multitudes will come to know of Jesus’ name.

An architect team was tasked to come up with the design-build that tailored to the function of the library. Computer-rendered 3D images showcased the library’s interior and floor plan. Minimalist aesthetic aims to create a spacious and clutter-free environment. The space will be furnished with wooden floorings, bookshelves, and furniture for study areas.

The construction project that turned the empty space into usable space was able to start with beautiful wood floors being laid down and walls newly painted. Furniture and equipment will be gradually added. The opening and dedication ceremony will be held when the construction is completed in the first quarter of 2022.

Olivet School of Media and Communications (OSMC) Dean, Senior Professor, and Olivet University Former President Dr. David James Randolph is honored with the namesake library by the school.

Dr. Randolph is currently serving as Dean and Senior Professor at Olivet School of Media and Communication. He is one of Olivet University’s longest-serving senior professors, who in 2006 was named the University’s second president following the first presidency of Olivet’s founder, Dr. David Jang. Olivet students have fond memories of Dr. Randolph for his enthusiastic and encouraging messages at the pulpit back at the first OU campus in downtown San Francisco.

Dr. Randolph is especially recognized for having served as the University President when Olivet University was awarded initial accreditation from the Association for Biblical Higher Education (ABHE) in February 2009. Following his tenure as University President, Dr. Randolph was named the Dean of Olivet School of Media and Communication (formerly Olivet College of Journalism) in February 2011.

Dr. Randolph faithfully responded to God’s calling to bridge the church and society through his work, which continues to inspire OSMC students to become messengers of the truth in the mass media today.

Aside from administration and teaching, Dr. Randolph founded one of the first festivals of new media “New Way Media and Art Festival” as a professor at Olivet University and the Graduate Theological Union in the San Francisco Bay Area. His work has been featured on the NBC “Today Show,” CBS “In Our Time,” the National Radio Pulpit on NBC, The New York Times, and numerous other media.

Dr. Randolph wrote the book “The Renewal of Preaching in the 21st Century” (Cascade Press), which explores how new media challenge and strengthen communications in and beyond the church. He was a pastor of leading United Methodist Churches in New York City, Long Island and elsewhere.

On October 21, Dr. Randolph released a written statement of his blessings for the OSMC David James Randolph Library:

Dear Brothers and Sisters of the Olivet Community,

Thank you for the gift of the David James Randolph Library of Media and Communications. May this Library, as of all of Olivet University, be a sacred place, where Olivet students and faculty gather, read, study, write and be strengthened to become as souls on fire to spread the Word of Jesus Christ throughout a world of heartbroken people seeking God’s love and His salvation.

Glory be to God! Carry on forward; keep going on! May God bless and guide Olivet truly and always! I celebrate with you in the infinite and eternal fellowship of Jesus Christ amid the songs of angels.

Dr. David James Randolph

Currently, the David James Randolph Library is under construction. A dedication service and opening ceremony will be held when the construction is completed next year.

In the Summer quarter, Olivet School of Media and Communication (OSMC) conducts an annual curriculum review for its journalism program. The review committee has proposed some major changes to both undergraduate and graduate programs, which will reflect the latest industry standards.

The new programs will adopt a more specialized, skill-orientated, and result-driven educational model. While the principles of journalism and basic reporting will remain as the fundamental part of the education, students will be trained to tell stories in multimedia format – with texts, photos, videos, and graphics. More in-depth courses that focus on a specific skill will be added so that students can learn to master a certain medium.

The new curriculum will be facilitated by new equipment and production facilities. Students will be trained on professional gears, following the benchmark set by the industry. For example, the Associated Press has announced to equip all visual journalists globally with Sony imaging products from Summer 2020. Mirrorless cameras will be used as a standard for student work, instead of the traditional DSLRs.

A new study track or certificate program specialized in the application of information technology in media will be introduced. Students will be able to choose to study some trending topics such as big data, artificial intelligence (AI), virtual reality (VR) production, live-streaming and other mediums.

The review committee will complete the draft of the new curricula next month after conducting more meetings with faculty and consultants of specific subjects.

Olivet School of Media and Communication (OSMC) will introduce a revised social media course with an emphasis on creating engaging content in the Spring quarter.

Previously, the social media course curriculum was designed to train journalists who use social media for breaking news, story leads, gathering information, and curating content. Students learn to use Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram generally for gathering and dissemination of information. However, so much has changed in this past year as other new platforms such as Tiktok and Clubhouse rose to popularity in America and beyond. Therefore, the curriculum is being redesigned to fill in the knowledge gaps.

Strategic content creation on social media would be a major emphasis of the redesigned course. Students will delve into the essence of making effective and engaging content- creating the experience and defining the voice. How to balance authenticity and professionalism on social media platforms? How to give a different “pitch” to the very different segments of the audience? These are some examples of in-depth questions that the new social media course will deal with.

OSMC curricula review panel examines all courses every year to adjust or redesign course content to keep abreast of the latest development in the media industry.

Olivet School of Media and Communication (OSMC) introduces a new elective course in data journalism in the Winter quarter. Students get to explore new ground in storytelling by interpreting statistics and data visualization.

Professor Stayman Hou designed the course with emphasis in the application and tools for reporting. From collection, analysis to presentation of data, the course covers the methodology for each step. Upon completion of the course, students should be able to conduct computer-assisted reporting; generate infographics from data; utilize data visualization tools; and add interactive visualization elements to a website.

Apart from the technical aspect of data journalism, Professor Hou pointed out the ethical issues involved. He showed many real-life examples of how wrongful interpretation of data may result in misleading or even fake stories. He reminded students to upload the very fundamental values of journalism – truthfulness, accuracy, objectivity, impartiality, fairness, and accountability – when handling data and statistics.

Journalism students are excited to learn about this new subject as an elective course and give positive feedback.

“Since I need to review many numerical reports on a daily basis in my ministry, I found the Data Journalism course to be very useful,” said first-year graduate student Steven Kim.

“I have realized the importance of interpreting data. With various historical examples of good data journalism and bad data journalism, I learn to provide accurate data with a good purpose so that no one might be misled. Data visualization skims down complicated data into simple graphs for public understanding, which is very refreshing. I can apply many things I learned in this course to my work,” added Kim.

Olivet School of Media and Communication (OSMC) launched a brand-new course “Media Sales” last quarter and evaluations are showing that students were highly satisfied with the course content. Results showed that it has helped them understand the business aspect of the media industry and primed them for entrepreneurship.

The 10-week course provided a comprehensive study of media sales with topics including the digital advertising ecosystem, fundamentals of programmatic, digital ads formats and platforms, ad technology and media math, digital media law and compliance, as well as selling and managing ad campaigns.

At the end of the course, students demonstrated digital media sales competency and more importantly – committed to upholding the standards of ethical and professional practice in the industry. The course is modeled after the training by the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB), which sets the industry standard for digital advertising sales.

As newsrooms across the nation struggle to thrive in the competitive digital content-based economy, a basic understanding of media business would enable aspiring content creators to pioneer sustainable models.

Hyojung Kim, who currently serves in the media ministry, found the course very practical. He said, “the course offers a walkthrough of the entire process from media sales to campaign management so that I could understand the full picture of my work. It improves my capability in ad sales to match with the professional industry standard.”

Zike Zhang, who interns as an information technology analyst this quarter, remarked the course has brought him to a new level in his profession.

“I was new and knew almost nothing about media sales before. During my internship this quarter, I have an opportunity to work on AdOps, which I am happy to learn about. This course helps to flatten my learning curve by introducing the industry terminologies, technology tools and standard workflow. I am now confident to communicate with my colleagues and clients professionally, and to deliver excellent business services. I highly recommend all media students to take this course. Thank God! God is so faithful that He provides exactly what I need at the right time,” Zike shared.

OSMC plans to offer the course again in the coming quarters with additional course content that can enhance the student’s transition into the sales field.

Olivet School of Media and Communication (OSMC) plans to hold a series of seminars on the history of the United States and China in August and September.

Journalism is basically “history on the run” because each piece of news is written as new facts are updated and verified. A deep understanding and sense of history enables journalists to see beyond the “who”, “what”, “where”, “when” that is happening today and to explain the “why” and “how”, therefore elevating their perspectives in reporting world events.

The first objective of the seminar series on the U.S. and China history is to help journalism students get the solid historical facts. Secondly, the seminar series aims to refine students’ viewpoint in politics, opening their eyes to see that God IS at work. The American society today is torn apart because of the differences in ideologies; many people are left in confusion and agony. By tracing back to the Christian root, values and true spirit of America, Christian journalists today can boldly speak of the hope that we have in the Lord Savior Jesus Christ.

The seminars will be based on carefully selected documentaries about the U.S. and China. Each session is about three hours with documentary screening and guided discussion. All students are welcome.

Olivet School of Media and Communication (OSMC) launches the redesigned general education course “Speech and Communication” in the Spring quarter to help undergraduate students develop communication skills in public speaking, small group interaction, and interpersonal relationships.

Demonstrating professionalism in speech and conduct at the workplace is essential for building successful working relationships with co-workers. The course is structured in a step-by-step manner to help students prepare a presentation from speech writing to final delivery. Students will learn to overcome the fear of public speaking and present with confidence.

Most of the study materials in this course are based on the experiences of a professional speaking coach. Students will also examine and analyze examples of public speeches by U.S. presidents, celebrities, athletes, and activists.

The course is offered online this quarter for students in California, Washington D.C., Europe, Africa, and China.

In the social media management class, journalism students explore various ways to engage the audience on social media with ethical responsibility in mind.

Social media has become a major player in the media world as a tool for communication and disseminating news. Journalists today must develop skills to utilize social media for breaking news, story leads, gathering information and curating content. Building and engaging audiences through social media is another required competence as media professionals. Web traffic analytics shows that social media such as Facebook and Twitter accounted for a large percentage of page views.

Second-year graduate student Zike Zhang was not particularly active on Facebook and Twitter to read news and find leads prior to taking the social media management class. But now he’s involved with a local ministry that starts Facebook brand pages. Zhang is learning to manage those pages on a daily basis though studying the best practices for social media in class. He finds the learning experience complete by actually creating posts and conversing with the audience.

“The social media class is pretty useful for me. When I manage my Facebook brand page, I realize that more important than growing the number of followers is to build a genuine relationship with my audience. This means I need to listen carefully to know their thoughts and needs,” Zhang said.

Since an enormous amount of information is being shared on social media and anyone can post anything without verification, Zhang said he realized the challenges that social media pose on journalism.

“The question for people today is whether or not to use social media, but how to use social media responsibly. The line between professional journalists and amateurs becomes blurred. But to me, challenges means opportunities. I will try my best to apply journalism ethics on social media and contribute positively to the conversations,” Zhang added.