What has transpired at James Madison University provides a model for the successful implementation of a basic communication education program required of all first-year students. This paper provides an accounting of the efforts that made possible the commitment to the development of the program. The paper is first divided into two columns. One column describes events and concerns that needed to be addressed to make the program possible. The second column discusses how the management of these events and needs represent the application of many of the same principles that are often the objects of study in communication. The third section provides a narrative account of the resources that were necessary for the program's operation (staffing, faculty burnout, instructor training, and space). The division of the sections of the paper invites readers to consider their own specific strategies for bringing about similar changes. (RS)