Specs Howard School of Media Arts
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Former names | Lee Alan School of Broadcast Arts, Specs Howard School of Broadcast Arts |
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| Motto | This is where you start, it's where I started. |
| Type | For-profit college |
| Established | 1970 |
| President | Specs Howard |
| Location |
Southfield, Michigan, United States 42°27′33″N 83°14′22″W / 42.4593°N 83.2394°WCoordinates: 42°27′33″N 83°14′22″W / 42.4593°N 83.2394°W |
| Campus | Urban |
| Affiliations | ACCSC |
| Website | http://www.specshoward.edu/ |
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| Mascots Specs & Howard | |
Specs Howard School of Media Arts is a for-profit college, dedicated to preparing people for a career in radio and television broadcasting, graphic design, and digital media arts. It is based in Southfield, Michigan, USA and is named after its founder, Specs Howard.
Background
Specs Howard was born 8 April 1926, in Kittanning, Pennsylvania. In 1948, he received a B.A. degree in history/political science and radio speech and dramatics from Allegheny College in Meadville, Pennsylvania. That same year, he opened his own radio station in Pennsylvania. Later, Howard moved to Cleveland and continued his broadcast career there. In 1962, he joined forces with Harry Martin, launching The Martin and Howard Show, which remained on the air in Cleveland until the duo moved to Detroit in January 1967. The show aired for another year in Detroit.
In 2009, the school changed its name to the "Specs Howard School of Media Arts" to reflect the broader scope of training offered.
Educational Focus
Specs Howard has three main programs which students can choose from, Broadcast Media Arts, Digital Media Arts, and Graphic Design. Specs Howard School offers 12-month programs, with day and evening classes that feature blended learning. Students receive a mix of online learning with hands-on courses that meet twice a week. Some students of Specs Howard go on to become on air radio and television talent, videographers, web designers, print designers, motion graphic artists, and more. They learn about the industry first-hand from experienced professionals who are still working in the field they teach.
Career Services
The school has its own embedded Career Services department, which is primarily, as of this writing, made up of advisors Brent Carey, Jennifer Michaels and Kristin Burns, and the Director Nancy Shiner. [2] The advisors heavily stress social media as a mitigating factor in career success, oftentimes announcing (mostly out-of-the-Detroit-area) paid employment leads via a Facebook group for the school's alumni. Many times, alumni will secure "internships" (volunteer) positions with local municipal cable television (and other) stations. It's been noted that the Career Services department is lacking in following up with filling out necessary paperwork for paid broadcasting internships (i.e. at Detroit's Channel 4 WDIV) promising students who exhibit professionalism at school, academic success and commitment through notable certificates of distinction, as well as perfect or near perfect attendance. The advisors are sometimes not professional themselves, often lacking in knowledge of proper spelling of rather large broadcasting staples as Scripps Howard and the like, as well as a basic lack of understanding of the intricacies of social media, as well as Web/Internet security and tact. The Career Services department workers and director highly anticipate that students and alumni will volunteer in the industries for which the school is noted as offering programs, stressing that volunteering is the key to success in the field. They also note that it's "who you know" rather than "what you know," when it comes to professional success and landing that first paid, or subsequent, job. Past and present examples in the industry have yet to prove accuracy and viability in this reasoning. Dick Kernen, also featured in the video of citation noted in this section, preaches this reasoning. Nearly all of the staff, including instructors, teach that social media for students should remain free of politics, while the individual faculty and staff, including Mr. Kernen, frequently post alienating rhetoric on social media such as Facebook. Mr. Kernen has also been noted as, in face-to-face conversation, unknowledgeable about who's really who in the broadcasting industry.