Sitting in the DMC, charging my laptop at a sleek white table while munching on a bag of chips from the Student Success Suite, it’s hard to imagine what it would have been like to attend Moody over a century ago. What began as a single department in 1899 – public speaking – has since flourished into a lush ecosystem of scholars, professors, and practitioners. The Moody we know and love today has grown exponentially since its inception. But what has this evolution looked like? 

I walked across Moody Bridge to the CMA to find out. 

Books about communication theory, loose academic papers, and decades of academic journals are scattered everywhere in Communication Studies professor John Daly’s office. During his time at UT, Daly has become one of Moody’s most venerated professors, winning every campus-wide undergraduate teaching award, and his continued love for the college and its history is palpable. Together, we traced the school’s history to a time before either of us got here. 

While communication has always been present at UT, a consolidated school has not. The Department of Public Speaking (now referred to as Communication Studies, or CMS) was established in 1899, with journalism following soon after, in 1914. 

One by one, different communication departments were created, but they didn’t have a central hub until 1965, when they united under the School of Communication as part of what Daly refers to as a “natural consolidation.” Fourteen years later, in 1979, the School of Communication officially became the College of Communication.

When Daly arrived at UT in 1977, the CMA had just opened, housing Radio-Television-Film (RTF), Journalism, and CMS (then called Speech Communication). The Advertising program was in its infancy. Communication Studies, Daly’s area of expertise, was still considered an offshoot of English and Rhetoric Studies, rather than its own field. 

As Daly’s career progressed, so did the College of Communication. It began to gain more traction, drawing students from across the world and opening numerous new programs, such as Texas Student Media and the Annette Strauss Institute for Civic Life. 

“This department keeps reflecting the changing world,” Daly said. 

The biggest change, however, came in the form of $50 million. The Moody Foundation’s generous endowment in 2013 changed the landscape of the college, both figuratively and literally.

Before the endowment, Daly described the college’s buildings as “bursting at the seams.” Thanks to the donation, the DMC and iconic Moody Bridge were built, giving the college some much-needed breathing room. According to Daly, the Moody endowment and name rebrand have made a huge difference in terms of opportunities. Although the College of Communication has always boasted world-class faculty and students, thanks to the additional funding, research and scholarship opportunities have greatly increased.

Several factors set Moody apart from other colleges of communication across the country. First, its sheer size – “people vote with their feet,” and genuinely want to be here, Daly said. With about 5,000 undergraduate students, Moody is certainly one of the largest communication schools nationwide. Numbers aren’t the only thing that distinguishes Moody from its peers, however; Daly said that Moody effectively integrates practice and scholarship. 

“Some schools are all practice, and some schools are all research, but we do a good job combining them,” Daly said. 

This balance of scholarship and practicality is essential in developing well-rounded students. With its breadth of departments and opportunities, Moody is a powerhouse of a college. Its programs consistently rank at the top of both national and international reports, and it’s not slowing down anytime soon.

After almost half a century at Moody, Daly is still excited for the future of the college. Specifically, he predicts an expansion of communication into the tech industry, particularly in AI. He believes that communication will become increasingly relevant as the technology develops further. Focusing on human connections and framing AI as a helpful tool, rather than something to be feared, will propel Moody forward.

“(Communication is) the most important thing people have always done, and people are more aware of it now than they used to be,” Daly said. 

Daly believes strongly in the sustained relevance of Moody. 

“Everyone wants to get better at communicating,” Daly said. “Everyone knows it matters.”