Indiana University Indianapolis (School of Liberal Arts)

As Co-Chair of the Department of Communication, I lead a newly merged academic unit that combines Communication Studies and Journalism & Public Relations. The department includes 17 full-time faculty and many part-time instructors, serving nearly 300 students across BA/BS, MA, and PhD programs, and delivering high-enrollment General Education courses to the broader campus. My responsibilities include guiding curriculum development, supporting faculty growth, overseeing enrollment, and fostering collaboration across disciplines to strengthen the department’s academic and professional impact.

As a Professor of Journalism & New Media, I teach and mentor students in courses that explore digital journalism, media literacy, and the intersection of technology and communication. My teaching interests include digital storytelling, communication law, and emerging media, including developing a new course that prepares students to integrate AI into their professional communication work. I emphasize high-impact, experiential learning, to help prepare students for evolving careers in media and communication.

My research focuses on news and media literacy. My work has been published in top-rated journals including Communication Research: Journalism; Communication Theory; Communication & the Public; Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly; Journalism & Mass Communication Educator; the Journal of Media Literacy Education; Electronic News; and Cyberpsychology, Behavior & Social Networking. I am the co-author of two books: one focused on news and media literacy, "American Journalism and Fake News: Examining the Facts," and a reference book that outlines the history of attacks on the press in the United States, "Attacks on the American press: A documentary and reference guide."

Indiana University (Learning Technologies division of University Information Technology Services)

I brought a faculty perspective to IU’s central IT organization, supporting instructors in designing, developing, and promoting innovative teaching practices using educational technology. I connected faculty with peer institutions, edtech vendors, and other partners to advance teaching and learning innovation across the university.

I played a leading role in Indiana University’s system-wide response to generative AI, serving as a thought leader and advisor to faculty, senior administrators, and cross-campus committees. I developed the GenAI Essential Skills online course — a set of six asynchronous modules covering skills from prompt engineering to ethics—through which nearly 1,100 badges were earned by learners inside and outside IU. This project was recognized nationally in the 2025 EDUCAUSE Horizon Report.

Beyond AI, I led university-wide initiatives on microcredentials and digital badging, including co-chairing the IU Microcredential Taskforce that produced a framework now being integrated into university systems and processes. I co-founded the Digital Gardener Initiative, a university-wide digital literacy program supported by Adobe that has engaged hundreds of faculty fellows and impacted thousands of students. In 2023–24, I managed a multimedia production team that delivered high-quality graphics and video content for online courses, enhancing student engagement and learning.

Indiana University Southeast (School of Arts & Letters)

I taught courses focused on digital journalism, including multimedia storytelling, audio storytelling, social media strategies, and online journalism. I focused on journalism innovation, including interactive graphics, immersive video, and other tech/tools. I also regularly taught communications law. I helped develop a multi-campus online degree program in digital media and storytelling, and I taught courses for that program as well.

At IUS, I developed and taught 11 courses, including seven fully online. Three of my online courses had been Quality Matters certified.

I served as coordinator (the functional equivalent of department chair) for the Journalism & Media Program from July 2016 to June 2019, leading faculty colleagues, including working on scheduling, program assessment, program development, marketing/development, and other program administrative issues. In that role, I oversaw increases in the number of students majoring in our area as well as the number of students enrolled in our courses, all while the campus experienced overall enrollment decline.

I was also director of student media from August 2012 to June 2019, where I directed business operations and advised students on editorial decisions for Horizon Media, including a newspaper/news website and internet radio station. I strengthened our financial health, increasing revenue substantially and building strong reserves, all while extending our technology resources and travel/professional development opportunities for students. I coached students on editorial decisions, and students won more than 290 state, regional, and national awards under my leadership, including twice winning the Pacemaker Award, considered the Pulitzer Prize of college journalism.

University of Missouri (School of Journalism)

I taught as instructor-of-record for four different courses, including a large-lecture Principles of American Journalism class and several sections of online graduate-level courses for high school journalism teachers working on their Master's in Journalism Education.

Ball State University (Department of Journalism)

I taught journalistic writing and editing courses.

I also helped develop and coordinate journalism workshops and other large-scale journalism education events for high school students and teachers. Part of these duties included general public relations and marketing work for the Department of Journalism.

University of Missouri (School of Journalism)

Dissertation: On parents, peers, administrators, and advisers: Developing a system to understand self-censorship of controversial topics in the high school press.

Ball State University (Department of Journalism)

Thesis: The road to scholastic press freedom: A survey of Midwestern high school newspaper advisers to determine the effects adviser backgrounds and school demographics have on student press freedom.

Indiana University-Bloomington (School of Education)

Focus: Journalism Education (major) and English Education (minor) Licensed to teach secondary journalism and English in Indiana