Mass Communication and Media Arts Faculty

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The graduate faculty of the college consists of members of the School of Journalism and Advertising and School of Media Arts. The faculty offer graduate courses leading to the following degrees: Master of Arts in Media Theory and Research, Master of Science in Professional Media and Media Management Studies, Master of Fine Arts in Mass Communication and Media Arts, and the Doctor of Philosophy in Mass Communication and Media Arts.

Graduate Faculty in Cinema

Bursell, Cade, Professor, Cinema Production, M.F.A., San Francisco State University, 2002; 2003. Cinema Production, queer cinema, experimental cinema.

Kapur, Jyotsna, Professor, Cinema Studies, Ph.D., Northwestern University, 1998; 1998. Feminist and Marxist analysis of media, globalization, children’s film and consumer culture, documentary and ethnographic film, the German and Japanese new wave and Indian cinema.

Metz, Walter, Professor, and Acting Associate Dean and Interim Director of Graduate Studies, Film Criticism, Ph.D., University of Texas, Austin, 1996; 2009. Contemporary film and television criticism and theory, literature and film, science and film, post-war American culture.

O'Brien, Heather, Assistant Professor, Cinema Production, M.F.A., California Institute of the Arts, 2013; 2020. Essay film, minority representation, and documentary.

Phillips, Mike, Clinical Assistant Professor, Media Studies, Ph.D., The Graduate Center of the City University of New York, 2018; 2019. American and transnational popular culture, film genre, historical fiction, African American cinema, and intermediality.

Rowley, R. William, Associate Professor, Cinema, M.F.A., University of Iowa, 1974; 2000. Cinema production and post-production, screenwriting, observational; documentary, intermedia arts.

Spahr, Robert, Associate Professor and Interim Chair Department of Radio, Television, and Digital Media, Media Arts, M.F.A., Parsons School of Design, New York City, 1991; 2009. Explores the Internet using code-based automated art, live art performance, drawing, painting, sculpture and time-based media.

Zhou, Hong, Associate Professor, Cinema Production, M.F.A., York University, Toronto Canada, 2000; 2008. Film and video production, cinematography, Chinese cinema, surrealist cinema.

Emeriti Faculty

Boruszkowski, Lilly A., Associate Professor, Emerita, M.F.A., Northwestern University, 1980.

Covell, Michael D., Assistant Professor, Emeritus, M.F.A., Ohio University, 1975.

Gilmore, David A., Associate Professor, Emeritus, M.F.A., Ohio University, 1969.

Kolb, Gary P., Professor, Emeritus, M.F.A., Ohio University, 1977.

Logan, Fern, Associate Professor, Emerita, M.F.A., School of the Art Institute of Chicago, 1993.

Roddy, Jan P., Associate Professor, Emerita, M.F.A., University of Illinois, 1987.

Swedlund, Charles A., Professor, Emeritus, M.S., Illinois Institute of Technology, 1961.

Tudor, Deborah, Associate Professor, Emerita, Ph.D., Northwestern University, 1992.


Graduate Faculty in Journalism

Babcock, William A., Professor, Media Ethics, Ph.D., Southern Illinois University Carbondale, 1979; 2008. Media ethics, public policy reporting.

Barrett, Anita J. (Stoner), Visiting Assistant Professor, Journalism and English Creative Writing, M.F.A., Syracuse University, 1995; 2005. Web production and content management systems, multimedia, revenue models for journalism.

Dolan, Mark, Associate Professor, Photojournalism, M.A., Syracuse University, 1995; 2008. Visual and interactive communication, photojournalism.

Freivogel, William H., Professor, Media Law, J.D., Washington University Law School, 2001; 2006. Journalism, media law, public affairs and policy.

Han, Dong, Associate Professor, Media and Communication, Ph.D., University of Illinois, 2011; 2012. Intellectual property and media, medical history and political economy, international communication and communication technology.

Karan, Kavita, Professor, Advertising and Marketing, Ph.D., University of London, 1994; 2009. Political communication, advertising and market research, international communication, media and children, health communication.

McClurg, Scott, Professor, Political Science, Ph.D., Washington University, 2000; 2001. Political participation, public opinion, electoral behavior, political geography, spatial statistics, and campaign dynamics.

Ryoo, Yuhosua, Assistant Professor, Advertising, Ph.D., University of Texas at Austin, 2019; 2019. The intersection of digital advertising, medial psychology, and prosocial behavior, individual, social, and situational factors of digital and social media.

Thompson, Jan, Professor and Director of the School of Journalism and Advertising, Documentary production, M.G.S., Roosevelt University, 1998; 2000. Video production, documentary, sports production.

Emeriti Faculty

Atwood, L. Erwin, Professor, Emeritus, Ph.D., University of Iowa, 1965.

Frith, Katherine T., Professor, Emerita, Ph.D., University of Massachusetts, 1985.

Gruny, C. Richard, Assistant Professor, Emeritus, J.D., University of Illinois, 1959.

Jaehnig, Walter, Associate Professor, Emeritus, Ph.D., University of Essex, 1974.

Lowry, Dennis, Professor, Emeritus, Ph.D., University of Iowa, 1972.

Shidler, Jon A., Associate Professor, Emeritus, M.S., Roosevelt University, 1980.

Spellman, Robert L., Jr., Associate Professor, Emeritus, J.D., Cleveland State University, 1977.

Stone, Gerald C., Professor, Emeritus, Ph.D., Syracuse University, 1975.


Graduate Faculty in Radio, Television, and Digital Media

Brookshire, Cody, Assistant Professor, Music Composition, DMA, University of Georgia, 2018; 2020. Music composition, sound art/soundscapes, sound design, electronic music, audio engineering, audio/music technology, audio/music production, arts collaboration, immersive audio, spatialized sound.

Brooten, Lisa B., Associate Professor, Media Studies, Ph.D. Ohio University, 2003; 2002. Media and globalization, gender, alternative media, social movements, political communication, interpretive/critical research methods, ethnography.

Burns, David, Associate Professor, Digital Media Arts and Animation, M.F.A., Parsons School of Design, 2001; 2005. 3D computer animation, media arts practices, technology, culture, and society, memory and post-memory.

Kreider, Wago, Associate Professor, Media Production, M.F.A., Rutgers University, 2002; 2006. Experimental and documentary media production, sound studies and production, cinematic histories, architectural and environmental studies.

Lewison, Sarah, Associate Professor, Media Production, M.F.A., University of California, San Diego, 2001; 2007. Video art, social movements, environmental media, installation, live art and performance.

Motyl, H. D., Associate Professor and Interim Dean, Media Production and Screenwriting, M.F.A., Northwestern University, 1990; 2007. Film/Video production and screen writing, narrative, gay representation.

Needham, Jay, Professor, Audio Production, M.F.A., California Institute of the Arts, 1989; 2003. Video, film, digital audio production, and electro-acoustic music.

Padovani, Cinzia, Associate Professor, Media Studies, Ph.D. University of Colorado, 1999; 2005. Historical approaches to political economy, public service broad-casting, international communication, social movements and the media.

Pape, Jennifer, Assistant Professor of Practice, M.F.A., Southern Illinois University Carbondale, 2017. Music composition and performance, audio documentaries, radio dramas, and sound art.

Perkins-Buzo, Reid, Assistant Professor, Media Arts, M.F.A., Northwestern University, 2004; 2014. 2D/3D animation, game development, virtual reality, augmented reality, expanded reality, spherical (360°) video production and interactive media.

Sphar, Robert, Associate Professor and Interim Chair Department of Radio, Television, and Digital Media, Media Arts, M.F.A., Parsons School of Design, New York City, 1991; 2009. Explores the Internet using code-based automated art, live art performance, drawing, painting, sculpture and time-based media.

Thompson, Jan, Professor and Director of the School of Journalism and Advertising, Documentary Production, M.G.S., Roosevelt University, 1988; 2000. Video production, documentary, sports production.

Emeriti Faculty

Downing, John D. H., Professor, Emeritus, Ph.D., London School of Economics and Political Science, 1974.

Gher, Leo, Associate Professor, Emeritus, M.S., Southern Illinois University, 1980.

Hochheimer, John L., Professor, Emeritus, Ph.D., Stanford University, 1986.

Johnson, Phylis, Professor, Emerita, Ph.D., Southern Illinois University Carbondale, 2003.

Keller, Kenneth R., Associate Professor, Emeritus, M.TV., University of Illinois, 1966.

Lemish, Dafna, Professor, Emerita, Ph.D., Ohio State University, 1982.

Meehan, Eileen R., Professor, Emerita, Ph.D., University of Illinois, 1983.

Podber, Jacob J., Associate Professor, Ph.D., Ohio University, 2001.