Jul 01, 2014 07:03 AM EDT By Staff Reporter, UniversityHerald Reporter

The University of Colorado Board of Regents has certified a new College of Media, Communication and Information on the Boulder campus, beginning fall 2015.

The journalism college will initially have about 1,750 students and will be financed from existing resources.

The current Department of Communication and the Program in Journalism and Mass Communication will be merged to make one college. It will also feature new departments of advertising, public relations and media design, communication, critical media practices, journalism, information science and media studies.

This is the first college to be created at CU-Boulder in more than 50 years. The new college aims to develop a journalism program with innovative and interdisciplinary approaches that makes CU-Boulder the leader in media education.

"The new college will deliver groundbreaking teaching and research that will ensure our students' success by providing them with the expertise and versatility they need to thrive in a rapidly evolving communication landscape," said CU-Boulder Chancellor Philip P. DiStefano, in a statement.

DiStefano said that the creation of a brand new journalism college will be a key driver of Colorado's information, communication and creative industries.

Andrew Pergam, video strategist at the McClatchy Company, said that the new college meshes has the potential to produce tech-savvy journalists who can create digital work while preserving the traditional standards of credible and ethical journalism.

"The University of Colorado is positioned to be on the forefront of our industry with an innovative program that will produce not only working filmmakers, but a new generation well-versed in nonfiction storytelling," said Oscar-winning documentarian Daniel Junge.

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