The University of Lagos (UNILAG) has unbundled its Department of Mass Communication from the Faculty of Social Sciences to establish a new Faculty of Communication and Media Studies (FCMS), Unilag Sun Newspaper reports.

Following the unbundling, a former Head of the Mass Communication Department, Professor Oloruntola Sunday, was elected as the pioneer Dean of the new faculty, while Dr. Ebony Oketunmbi was elected Sub-Dean. Their election was announced Friday, June 20, 2025, by the Principal Assistant Registrar, Senate and Ceremonies, Abayomi Osinowo, who led three other members of the committee to conduct the election.

The elevation to faculty status comes 58 years after the department was established in 1966 as an Institute of Mass Communication, following a bilateral agreement between the Federal Government, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and UNESCO. The department was created with the vision of serving as a centre for training journalists in the African subregion, with Professor S. Scotten as its first Dean.

The Mass Communication Department began as a one-year diploma programme in 1966 before it became degree-awarding in 1968. It was initially housed within the university’s Library Complex, but later moved to the Faculty of Arts before being integrated into the Faculty of Social Sciences in February 1974. Over the years, it has consistently evolved to meet the changing needs of media education in Nigeria and West Africa.

The department has over time been led by distinguished academics, such as the late Professor Alfred Opubor, Professor Onuora Nwuneli, and the Jagaban of Mass Communication, Professor Ralph A. Akinfeleye. It has also trained generations of media professionals across Nigeria and West Africa, including the late Prince Tony Momoh, Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, Ruth Benamaisia-Opia, John Momoh, Dele Olojede, the first African to win the Pulitzer Prize in international journalism, Chief Olusegun Osoba, Bayo Onanuga, among others.

At the 2025 Unilag convocation, the Department graduated 12 PhD candidates and 18 all-female first-class students with B.Sc. degrees.

Speaking ahead of the election on Friday, the Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences, Professor Adelaja Odukoya, expressed mixed emotions, describing the development as “a regretful exit”. He, however, acknowledged that “children have to be greater than the parents” and prayed that the new faculty, which he emphasised is already “the first in Nigeria, West Africa, and Africa”, would become the first globally. He wished the faculty well in all its endeavours.

Dr. Ibitayo Popoola, who spoke on behalf of the department, described Professor Sunday as “a man of history” and thanked the Vice-Chancellor for fulfilling her promise to unbundle the department. He prayed God to grant the Vice-Chancellor the grace to fulfil all her grand visions for the university.

The new Faculty of Communication and Media Studies is expected to build on the department’s legacy of media excellence in Africa, including its operation of Radio Unilag 103.1 FM, UnilagTV, Unilag Sun Newspaper, and MassCope Magazine, all of which provide practical training for broadcast and print students and serve the university community.