About C3

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Excellence Across Five Units
- The C3 Research Center
  
  The Center for Communication, Collaboration & Creativity (C3), a college-level center, housed in the College of Fine Arts and Communication to help faculty (1) to identify, obtain and deliver grants and (2) to foster interdisciplinary projects.
  
  C3 is a collaborative group of scholars and artists working in interdisciplinary teams to address contemporary communication challenges and support artistic expression. C3 research and programming cuts across academic disciplines and University silos to build a sustainable culture of externally funded scholarship, creative activity and collaboration among faculty in the College of Fine Arts and Communication and beyond.
  
  Participation by individual scholars and artists is voluntary, but all C3 projects are undertaken with a spirit of cooperation, collegiality, and a shared goal of creating novel and innovative scholarship and creative work that benefits our campus and community.
- Academic Units
  
  Texas State University's College of Fine Arts and Communication comprises five academic units: School of Art & Design School of Journalism & Mass Communication School of Music Department of Communication Studies Department of Theatre & Dance
- Mission, Core Values and Vision
  The Mission of the Center for Communication, Collaboration & Creativity (C3) is to conduct, support, and disseminate interdisciplinary research and projects that are externally funded, innovative and supportive of college and university goals. C3 will provide support researchers and educators at Texas State by (1) sustaining institutional funding commitments, (2) targeting external sources (3) leveraging existing resources and (4) establishing a positive research environment. C3 will serve as a clearinghouse for information and funding opportunities and offer mentoring support to assist fellow communication colleagues in their research and creative endeavors.
  
  Core Values
  - Research creativity
  - Innovation
  - Creative activity
  - Community-oriented: supporting the university & surrounding area
  - Research and creative project support for colleagues
  - Support the mission and goals of the College and University
  - Sustained commitment and effort
  - Growth
  - Established peer and community relationships
  - Success
  Vision
  
  C3 is a collaborative group of scholars and artists working in interdisciplinary teams to address contemporary communication challenges. C3 research and programming cuts across academic disciplines and University silos to build a sustainable culture of externally funded scholarship, creative activity and collaboration among faculty in the College of Fine Arts and Communication. C3 scholars seek innovative approaches to the problems we address, which in turn enhances our funding potential and contribution to the study of communication. Participation by individual scholars and artists is voluntary, but all C3 projects will be undertaken with a spirit of cooperation, collegiality, and a shared goal of creating novel and innovative scholarship and creative work that benefits our campus and community. Through C3 we will develop research initiatives, creative projects, and gather funding that will earn college, university, and national recognition as we become an R1 institution.
- C3 History
  
  In August 2014, the College of Fine Arts and Communication (COFAC) elevated the School of Journalism and Mass Communication's Center for the Study of Latino Media and Markets to establish a comprehensive, college-level research Center. The Center for Communication, Collaboration & Creativity (C3) will expand faculty and student opportunities to meet the growing needs of the college as an emerging research university. C3 will serve as an incubator for interdisciplinary research, empowering students, researchers and educators at Texas State University to compete in today's knowledge-based economy. C3 is aligned with Texas State strategic plan to help conduct, support, and disseminate communication research and creative activities that are externally funded, innovative and supportive of university, college, department and community goals.
  
  C3 will continue to support the growing research of Latino media and markets and other research areas in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, while reaching out to all units: School of Art and Design, School of Music, Department of Communication Studies and the Department of Theatre and Dance.
  
  The concept for C3 developed over the 2013-2014 academic year through meetings, symposia, workshops and town hall forums that there was evidence that faculty had specific research support needs in order to align COFAC with the university’s strategic plan for research. Specifically, faculty voiced a desire to pursue funded research and, in this effort, garner assistance, support, and guidance in this endeavor. In January 2014, a steering committee was created to move forward with the core research values of Five Units: One Direction.
  
  C3's vision is to develop the infrastructure and culture to support faculty research initiatives and increase external funding, earning the college and university recognition, as well as moving toward becoming a Tier One or Nationally Competitive Research University. C3 will be recognized at the university, college and community levels as a Center dedicated to applied research and the intersections of communication, collaboration and creativity.
- Align with University Goals and Initiatives
  
  Goal 1: Supporting Student Success.
  1.1 Expand efforts supporting academic preparedness and excellence
  1.2 Strengthen student engagement, sense of belonging, and wellbeing
  1.3 Increase support for graduate students
  1.4 Enhance career and post-graduation success
  1.5 Build student success infrastructure
  Goal 2: Advancing Academic Excellence
  2.1 Increase enrollment at all levels with emphasis on international, transfer, online, and graduate students
  2.2 Offer new and innovative academic programs that meet the economic and cultural needs of the state
  2.3 Expand degree programs and infrastructure to increase enrollment on the Round Rock Campus
  2.4 Invest in faculty excellence by increasing the capacity and development of all faculty
  Goal 3: Expanding Discovery, Innovation, Creativity, and Research
  3.1 Position Texas State University to achieve Carnegie R-1 status
  3.2 Target and secure multi-year and multimillion-dollar awards to increase and diversify the university"s research portfolio
  3.3 Enhance the university's intellectual property (IP) portfolio and commercialization efforts
  3.4 Build relationships with private sector, industry, government, and educational partners
  Goal 4: Enriching Community, Collaboration, and Partnerships
  4.1 Enhance the regional, national, and international, reputation of the university
  4.2 Build community relations, collaborations, and partnerships with external stakeholders
  4.3 Increase engagement in activities and programs that promote a welcoming community and a sense of belonging
  Goal 5: Developing Infrastructure and Resources
  5.1 Position Texas State University as an employer of choice
  5.2 Provide infrastructure befitting a Carnegie R-1 university
  5.3 Simplify administrative process to increase efficiency
  5.4 Pursue innovative approaches to revenue generation and budgeting
  Education Significance
  C3 will serve as an incubator for interdisciplinary research, empowering students, researchers and educators at Texas State University, the State of Texas, nationally, and internationally to compete in today’s knowledge-based economy. C3 is aligned with Texas State’s strategic plan to address the communication demands of the 21st century. The strategic plan of C3 is to drive world-class education and research.
  In this endeavor, C3 will promote the collaboration and the creation of interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary teams of faculty, staff, and students from all major areas and fields of study. The outcome will be the presence of a highly engaged academic and social environment of the College of Fine Arts and Communication.
  Impact
  C3 is designed to (1) facilitate the formation of interdisciplinary research and creative teams, (2) assist teams in the procurement of external funding needed to support their work, (3) help teams with the administration of research grants, (4) support the research culture at Texas State, (5) provide community involvement and expertise in specialty areas (e.g., health communication messages and training), and (5) garner a national and international reputation for Texas State as a research institution.
  Specifically, C3 will connect faculty across the college who have similar research interests and, through the collaboration process, faculty will be able to solve larger problems than possible working alone.
  Outcomes of this collaboration will result in faculty:
  Creating, exhibiting, and presenting work
  Proposing new interdisciplinary academic programs
  Developing new course that may be team-taught and using innovative delivery methods
- Texas State University is a Hispanic-Serving Institution
  
  Texas State is home to a diverse campus community where ethnic minorities make up 42% of the student body and 30% are Hispanic. Texas State is recognized by the federal government as a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI), the largest in Texas, and ranks among the top 20 universities in the nation for the number of bachelor's degrees awarded to Hispanic students.
- Emerging Research University Status
  
  In 2012, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board named Texas State University an “Emerging Research University,” a designation in the state’s higher education accountability structure that allows Texas State to tap into special state funds designed to bolster higher education research. This designation affirms Texas State’s commitment to support faculty as active scholars in their respective disciplines and to involve both undergraduate and graduate students in university research. To coordinate efforts to achieve designation as a Research University (R1), Texas State adopted, in 2023 a 6-year Strategic Plan for Research with targeted investments of institutional funds to support increased research activity across the university.
  The university plan to achieve the Carnegie R1 status focuses on the following actions:
  (1) recruiting research groups of excellence, including National Academy members,
  (2) Expanding research operations, research development and research innovation across all campuses of Texas State,
  (3) Targeting development of research proposals > $ 10million.
  In response to this Strategic Plan for Research, C3 has developed as a faculty-centered organization with the following mission, values, and vision.