On Friday, Feb. 14, the College of Humanities, Social Sciences, and the Arts (CHSSA) celebrated the dedication of the new Applied Learning Classroom supported by the Tom and Mimi Cunningham Support Fund for Communication Studies. Hosted as part of Homecoming 2025 festivities, the dedication took place concurrently with the 10th anniversary of Pier601 Creative — an applied learning course offered through the Department of Communication Studies.
Pier601 Creative marked 10 years welcoming alumni for an open house in Leutze Hall to visit the new Applied Learning Classroom.
The grand opening and anniversary events — attended by alumni, donors, faculty, staff, and students — featured behind-the-scenes tours of the Communication Studies program spaces and equipment, including the Applied Learning Classroom, and a special presentation and plaque unveiling in recognition and appreciation for the long-time support of Mimi and the late Tom Cunningham.
Due to the Cunningham’s support, the classroom is equipped with state-of-the-art podcasting equipment, a smart board, pod seating, and huddle spaces that collectively provide a professional and engaging environment for students in Pier601 to host client meetings, brainstorming sessions, and record their podcasts. The classroom also serves as a learning space for students across the Communication Studies curriculum.
“Mimi and Tom have been our most steadfast and significant partners over the years,” said Rick Olsen ’87Ph.D., Chair of the Department of Communication Studies. “This applied learning space will get our students ready for the marketplace. It is yet another incredible outcome of the commitment that Tom and Mimi have had for our department.”
The classroom is a longtime vision of Jeanne Persuit, Ph.D., Professor of Communication Studies and Cofounder of Pier601 Creative, and marks a significant milestone achievement for CHSSA that has been years in the making.
“In 2008, I was asked to build an integrated marketing and communication (IMC) curriculum and I knew that someday we would include a student-run IMC first as part of our offerings,” said Persuit. “In 2014, we launched the first class of Pier601 Creative. That we now have a space dedicated to applied learning is a dream come true.”
A crowd of people gathering to celebrate the opening of the Applied Learning Classroom.
As longtime Wilmington residents and friends of UNCW, the Cunninghams have been making an impact on the UNCW student experience since the 1980s, and have been members of the E.L. White Planned Giving Society since 2011.
“Your generosity is so greatly appreciated,” said Persuit of the Cunningham’s support. “It is an honor to teach students who will someday be public communicators, who see your commitment to UNCW and the Wilmington community as inspiration for their own work.”
Mimi joined the Seahawk community in 1982 and served as the UNCW Director of University Relations and Director of Community Relations over the course of her career — impacting and leading the university and surrounding communities through countless programs, campaigns, and crises. She led UNCW’s 50th anniversary observance in 1997-98 and a $3.1 million higher education facilities bond issue with 13 area community colleges in 2000; managed crisis communications for the university through six hurricanes; and taught and mentored more than 150 communications student interns until her retirement in 2008.
“The classroom is a great synthesis of what Mimi Cunningham has provided for our department and the university,” said Olsen. “It provides the integration of theory and practice — and that is what is at the heart of our department and at the heart of the many students Mimi has mentored over the years.”
Tom served as a member of the UNCW Board of Visitors from 2017 to 2023. In addition to creating the Tom and Mimi Cunningham Support Fund for Communication Studies, he and Mimi also endowed the Department of Communication Studies Leadership Series — now called the Mimi Cunningham Speaker Series Endowment through the Department of Communication Studies.
“I have been so honored to have been a part of this department for a number of years, not only with the interns, but to teach,” said Mimi. “Tom and I decided that applied learning was a very important need, so we increased our annual gift to support this initiative. I’m absolutely thrilled to see that applied learning has come to the department and that students have access to all this technology.”
Due to the continued support of the Cunninghams and the vision and groundwork of Persuit, Bolduc, and UNCW alumni from the first class of Pier601 Creative — including Rachel Edwards ’14, Nathan Evers ’14, Rachel (Gracy) Ellzey ’14, and Caroline Robinson ’14 — the Applied Learning Classroom is now a reality and applied learning opportunities continue to evolve for current and future Seahawks.
“If there’s anything I would leave you with, especially the students, it is so important if you have the opportunity and the wherewithal to give back,” said Mimi. “It means so much to students, whether it’s a scholarship, a speaker series, or this classroom — it’s so important to give back. Even if you start with just a little bit and increase as you go out into the world.”
View photos from the dedication and anniversary celebration.
To learn more about how you can support UNCW and impact the Seahawk student experience, visit giving.uncw.edu. Additionally, explore the alumni events calendar and volunteer opportunities to start making plans to get involved.