Baker University’s mass media and art departments will be undergoing some changes for the 2011-2012 school year.

Members of the Baker University Faculty Senate approved a sports information track for mass media that will go into effect starting in the fall. The mass media program already has two tracks students can choose from, with areas of emphasis in multimedia and public relations.

Gwyn Mellinger, chair of the mass media department, said with so many students having shown an interest in writing, reporting and marketing sports, this track was added in order to give students a deeper background in the area of sports information.

“We’ve had a number of people been interested in sports journalism, but who have chosen to do a sports information career, and I think that this will just provide an additional wrinkle as students are looking at the many things that you can do with … mass media skills,” Mellinger said. “It’s not just reporting … There are a number of things that you can do with what you learn in this department, and this just gives a little bit more definition to that.”

On top of the addition of a sports information track, the department as a whole will be joining forces with the art department by merging into one department starting next year.

Brett Knappe, assistant professor of art history, said some aspects of art, such as digital photography, illustrate the connections between art and mass media.

“We have some natural things that go together, and some others that we’ll just kind of wait and see,” he said. “And, I think it will be kind of fun to explore.”

Knappe also said the two departments have already created an interdisciplinary major, which will be ready to go for next semester. But for current art and mass media students, requirements for each major will not change, and the merge itself will have no direct effect on those students.

For senior Cate Richards, art and media are two things she adores. Being a studio art and art history major, and having hosted her own radio show on campus for about three years, she can see the connections between Baker’s art and mass media departments, even though the initial thought of a merger was a little surprising.

“I never thought that those two would be coming together,” she said. “I mean, there is a connection, being that they’re both humanities, and they involve original thinking and a certain kind of talent and interpretation, but the more I thought about it, the more that I was like, ‘yeah, there’s a connection there.'”

Knappe said the most significant aspect about this merger is the opportunities it will present for both sides of the new department.

“Down the road, we might find some opportunities we haven’t even imagined yet, especially as media is changing … dramatically and quickly,” Knappe said. “There will definitely be a new set of skills necessary for studio art majors in five years, and I think mass media will be ready to assist us.”