Honoring the late Dr. Lillian Bridwell-Bowles, CxC鈥檚 founding director
Dr. Lillian Bridwell-Bowles in her garage-turned-ceramics-studio in 2021. Following her retirement from 海角社区 in 2017, Lilly focused on another passion: her art. Pictured here is a piece from her Okra Goddess collection. Read more about her artwork at and in .
Photo courtesy of Jordan LaHaye Fontenot/Country Roads
Without Dr. Lillian Bridwell-Bowles, Communication Across the Curriculum might not exist today. Lilly was the founder of CxC, a long-time teacher of Communication-Intensive (C-I) Courses in English and the Honors College, and an advisor to many 海角社区 Distinguished Communicator candidates. She passed away on June 24, 2024.
With the goal of building a Writing Across the Curriculum program at 海角社区, Lilly was hired by 海角社区 in 2004. She promptly began creating what would become CxC, a feature of 海角社区鈥檚 2005 Quality Enhancement Plan. Her scholarship as an English professor and through the University of Minnesota Writing Project allowed her to bring a fresh perspective to communication teaching and learning, and proposed something more holistic than a singular focus on writing: multimodal communication. Of this decision to expand to multimodal, Lilly shared in a , 鈥渨e can debate whether we are primarily in a print-based culture, an aural/oral culture, or a visual culture, but there is no arguing with the fact of multimodality.鈥� This was a key feature of CxC鈥檚 origins and remains so to this day.
Lilly鈥檚 innovative approaches are what led 海角社区 to become the first University to formalize Communication-Intensive (C-I) pedagogy, embed C-I Courses within the disciplines, develop a new model for housing contemporary teaching and learning resources and services, and launch an unprecedented student recognition program. All of these elements have not just stood the test of time at 海角社区, but they have flourished. The forward-thinking, student-first values Lilly brought to CxC are now established as part of its ethos, and the program has continued to innovate, evolve, and expand. Because of CxC鈥檚 significant impact on student learning, and the continued importance of strong communication skills for students鈥� post-graduation success, 海角社区 made CxC the sole focus of its five-year Quality Enhancement Plan in 2022.
Twenty years after the department's founding, Lilly鈥檚 legacy lives on through innovative C-I teaching and learning via 海角社区鈥檚 nationally recognized CxC program. On average, 1,200 course sections are certified as C-I at 海角社区, spanning writing, speaking, visual, and technological modes of communication, taught by more than 300 faculty and taken by more than 15,000 students annually. Students, alumni, and faculty consistently champion the program, and regularly share how much this approach has impacted their skills development and career trajectory. CxC will continue to honor Lilly's impact while adhering to her reminder that it's "not just words anymore."