Administration and Faculty
Administration
Interim Dean Leena Jayaswal
Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs Laura BonDurant
Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs Filippo Trevisan
Senior Assistant Dean for Strategic Partnerships and Internal Affairs Kristi Plahn-Gjersvold
Assistant Dean for Finance and Operations Gerard Maguire
Assistant Dean for Graduate Academic Services Katerina Kulagina
Assistant Dean for Undergraduate Academic Services Ana Maria Ulloa-Shields
Senior Director for Experiential Learning Sarah Menke-Fish
Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Gemma Puglisi
Faculty
The School of Communication (SOC) full-time faculty blends traditional academic scholarship with hands-on professional experience. Faculty regularly develop ground-breaking courses, publish books and articles, speak at national and international conferences and forums, produce award-winning films, work for social justice, and help shape ethical practices in their individual fields. Full-time faculty have won Emmys and Academy Awards, been nominated for Pulitzer Prizes, and worked on presidential campaigns. SOC also appoints outstanding adjunct faculty, who bring depth and insight into the classroom. The adjunct faculty are working professionals in all four fields of study, including reporters who cover the White House, documentary filmmakers, and political strategists.
Full-Time Faculty
University Professor P. Aufderheide
Professor L. Jayaswal, B. Maher, A. Phelps, A. Sinnreich, L. Steinhorn, M. Stogner, R.S. Zaharna
Provost Associate Professor C. Borum
Associate Professor R. Blair, L. Engel, J. Hall, N. Hopkinson, A. Massanari, W. Melillo, C. Myers, J.A. Olmsted, K. Pietroszek, B. Stokes, F. Trevisan, J. Watson
Assistant Professor K. Braddock, K. Brannon, C. Butkowski, R. Donald, A. Eisman, J. Graf, M. Livio, E. Menchen-Trevino, S. Menke-Fish, G. Puglisi, J. Sisley, M. Susca, S. Talan, L. Waters-Hinson, S. Williams
Hurst Senior Professorial Lecturer P. Kumar
Senior Professorial Lecturer D. Bernardini, R. Bhaskar, T. Bryant, P. Doshi, D. Inverso, A. Karavanov, C. Parell, P. Weissmann
Professorial Lecturer W. Christopher, A. Coskuntuncel, J. Mollica, A. Okten, A. Sahejpal
Distinguished Journalist in Residence J. Sullivan
Executive in Residence M. O’Rourke
Investigative Broadcaster in Residence C. Halsne
Journalist in Residence W. Gentile, L. Perri
Director of Writing Programs C. Lawrence
Emeriti Faculty
Professor Emeritus/a G.P. Harnden, J.A. Hendrix, L. Kirkman (Dean Emeritus), C. Lewis, K. Montgomery, C. Simpson, R.A. Streitmatter, L.W. Wolfson, J.S. Yamauchi
Associate Professor Emeritus/a W. Cochran, B. Diggs Brown, J.C. Doolittle, J. Douglass, J.C. Seigle, R.A. Stack, W.W. Swallow, A.E. Zelle
Assistant Professor Emeritus/a C. Lawrence
Hurst Senior Professorial Lecturer Emeritus/a R.A. Robertson
Artist in Residence Emeritus/a R. Williams
Centers and Institutes
The Center for Media & Social Impact (CMSI), is an innovation lab and research center that creates, studies, and showcases media for social equity and social change. Focusing on independent, documentary and public media, as well as entertainment storytelling and comedy, the Center bridges boundaries between scholars, producers, and communication practitioners across media production, media impact, public policy, and audience engagement. The Center produces resources for the field and academic research; creates media and comedy for social good; convenes conferences and events; and works collaboratively to understand and design media that matter. CMSI is directed by Professor Caty Borum Chattoo. For more information, go to www.cmsimpact.org.
The Center for Environmental Filmmaking (CEF) is one of the leading environmental, wildlife, and climate justice media programs in the world. Our mission is to advance filmmaking, photography, and new forms of immersive and interactive storytelling as powerful catalysts that inform, inspire, and empower. We create transformative and innovative media, working together to address the critical environmental challenges we face today. CEF is committed to diversifying the field, increasing equity, and building compassionate communities. The Center provides an outstanding array of courses, experiential learning opportunities such as Classroom in the Wild, creative media labs, film and speaker series, and fellowships. In addition to accomplished and award-winning faculty, CEF partners with conservation and advocacy organizations, media companies, and a vast network of experts, scholars, and policymakers around the world. Join CEF for a creative, robust program that launches the next generation of change-makers. For more information, go to www.american.edu/soc/environmental-film/.
The Investigative Reporting Workshop (IRW) is a nonprofit, editorially-independent, professional news organization publishing in-depth stories about government and corporate accountability, from the environment and health to national security and the economy. IRW pairs professional reporters with graduate students and co-publishes with mainstream media partners and nonprofit newsrooms, including The Washington Post. IRW helped develop the American Press Institute’s guiding principles for nonprofit newsrooms. For more information, go to https://investigativereportingworkshop.org/.
The AU Foreign Correspondence Network (FCN) provides tools and guidance for students seeking to work as journalists and filmmakers overseas. A platform for the study of international news coverage, the FCN is bolstered by AU’s partnership with the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting. It is maintained by Professor Bill Gentile, former foreign correspondent for United Press International (UPI) and Newsweek magazine. For more information, go to https://foreigncorrespondencenet.wordpress.com.
The American University Game Center (formerly the AU Game Lab) serves as a hub for experiential education, game research, and innovative production. The Game Center educates leaders in this field through a Games and Interactive Media (MFA) , Game Design (MA) and a graduate certificate in Game Design (Graduate Certificate) . It also offers courses in support of games-focused tracks within the Literature, Culture, and Technology (MA) and Computer Science (MS) programs. Additionally, faculty at the lab occasionally support doctoral students in Communication (PhD) in game-relevant research areas. The Game Center also operates the AU Game Studio that works with external clients in education, health, social policy, journalism, and a variety of other fields to produce games with additional purposes beyond entertainment such as learning, situational awareness, behavioral and organizational change, etc. The Game Center brings together students and faculty from across the institution and is jointly administered by the School of Communication and the College of Arts and Sciences . For more information, see https://www.american.edu/gamecenter/.
The Internet Governance Lab is a campus-wide intellectual center that addresses the implications of cyber policy on society and the economy. The Lab’s mission is to advance the marketplace of ideas with original research, to inform policymakers and the public, and to train the next generation of thought leaders in the area of Internet Governance. The lab is led by Faculty Directors Dr. Derrick Cogburn (SIS & KSB) and Dr. Nanette Levinson (SIS). For more information, go to https://internetgovernancelab.org/.
Experiential Learning
At SOC, students have many opportunities to get real world experiences and opportunities to propel them to their post grad careers and to build the kind of relationships and learning that can last a lifetime. From our career intensives in Los Angeles and New York to our course based opportunities like SOC3 that have you work with an actual client, we feel confident that students will find ways to engage in the community and the world. For more information, go to https://www.american.edu/soc/experiential-learning/.
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