About

I am an adjunct professor in the College of Communication at DePaul University. I teach a  variety of courses that make use of my educational, professional and philosophical backgrounds.

PRAD255: Public Relations. This introductory course on the history, theory and practice of PR includes extensive discussions of communications best practices, ethics, messaging and the role of public relations in a society that expects to be swindled at every turn.

PRAD256: Writing for Public Relations and Advertising. I run the class like an agency with a variety of daily, weekly and quarterly deliverables related to research, analysis and writing. My students practice writing branded features, news releases, media audits, company backgrounders/case studies, personnel profiles, earnings summaries, social media comms and more.

PRAD291: Data, Research, Insights. This is a communication research methods course. I focus on qualitative methods and provide a basic understanding of quantitative, statistics-driven research. Students learn to formulate and refine research questions, make use of internet databases, company histories, media audits and conduct research related to their favorite brands, companies and organizations.

PRAD334: Advertising and Public Relations Ethics. This course applies basic principles of ethical thought to historical, contemporary and hypothetical advertising and public relations campaigns and scenarios. Students learn about a range of ethical approaches and then apply them to the creation of campaigns and internal communication practices.

CMN102: Introduction to Mass Communication. This survey course covers major developments in the political, economic and social histories of communications technologies and practices. The focus is how communication impacts the presence, perception and practice of community. From global print culture to journalism ethics to fake news to the potential of media to improve daily life, this class challenges students to think critically about how their media consumption shapes them as a consumer and citizen.

CMN103: Intercultural Communication. The major concern of this class is to get students to think about how their daily communication choices can have real impact on their communities and selves.

MCS274: Diversity and Inclusion in Television and Film. This is a broad survey of different representational media. We analyze and evaluate media products on the levels of the creators, casts and characters. Critical theory related to representation and other key concepts of cultural studies provides a backdrop for student analysis of what media can do for, to, and about different cultures and groups.

I earned my PhD in Mass Communication (minor in Print Culture History) from the University of Wisconsin in December 2017, specializing in journalism studies and ethnic/diaspora media.  I earned an M.A. in Communication from the University of Illinois at Chicago, where I focused on media studies and communication history. Before that I worked as an editorial writer, business reporter and editor for publications of varying size, reach, scope and influence. In between my graduate programs I worked for a non-profit religious organization and a major insurance company and as a freelance editor and proofreader. I earned my bachelor’s degree in Studies in Cinema and Media Culture from the University of Minnesota, where their J-School was a second home for me.

I am the general editor for the Society for Conceptual Logistics in Communication Research, which I founded with my UIC colleagues James J. Sosnoski (now an professor emeritus of Communication there) and Gordon Carlson (now an assistant professor in the Department of Communication at Fort Hays State University). The site and project are designed to foster conversation and collaboration about communication conceptions, methods and teaching. Even if (because?) you’re not a “communication scholar,” it’s worth a look and maybe a contribution or two.

Please enjoy.