In 1955, David K. Berlo, at the age of 29, received his doctorate degree in the study of communication from the University of Illinois. Berlo was a student of Wilbur Schramm, who sat on the doctoral committee. Schramm, whose theories of communication are well known, was responsible for the creation of the first communication program at the graduate level which was an entity separate from speech and mass communications. Dean Gordon Sabine, also sat on the committee, and the following day offered Berlo an assistant professorship position and the chair of the newly created Department of General Communication Arts, at his Michigan State University (MSU) (Rogers, 2001)