Professional Service

  • American Journalism Historians Association. Reviewer for Annual Conference. 06/01/2023 - 07/15/2023
  • American Journalism Historians Association. Role: Co-host. Annual Conference , which was in Salt Lake City. About 125 scholars attended the three-day conference downtown. 05/10/2018 - 10/06/2018
  • American Journalism Historians Association. Role: reviewer. Reviewer, American Journalism. 11/2011 - 12/2012
  • Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication. Role: Reviewer. Reviewer and discussant, Law and Newspaper Divisions. 08/2006 - 12/2008
  • Board, Utah Headliners chapter, Society of Professional Journalists. Role: member. Board member, membership chair, ethics committee chair. 05/2005 - 05/2009
  • Association for Practical and Professional Ethics. Role: Judge. Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl. 03/2003 - 03/2010

Internal Service

  • Promotion and Tenure ad hoc committee for Jacob Nelson. Chair, 07/01/2023 - 10/01/2023. Department service.
  • Interim Director of Undergraduate Studies. Primary duties have involved working with the department’s Academic Program Manager to so he can formally assume those duties., 07/01/2022 - 06/30/2023. Department service.
  • Executive Committee. Member, 07/01/2021 - 06/30/2023. Department service.
  • Promotion and Tenure ad hoc committee for Chris Ingraham. Member, 08/2020 - 10/2020. Department service.
  • Ad hoc committee for Promotion and Tenure of Avery Holton. Member, 08/24/2018 - 10/04/2018. Department service.
  • College Curriculum Committee. Responsibilities included reviewing course additions, changes, and deactivations, as well as sequences, requirements, and other curricular coordination for all College departments and programs. Concluded 6th year of service on this committee. Member, 01/01/2018 - 06/30/2018. College service.
  • Undergraduate Committee. Concluded 6th year as chair. In 2017-2018, implemented proposal to expand the committee with overlapping 2-year terms to represent a wide spectrum of department faculty. In 2018, committee coordinated several additional updates to curriculum. Chair, 01/01/2018 - 06/30/2018. Department service.
  • Associate Chair and Director of Undergraduate Studies. Duties included College committee service; several Gen Ed and Degree Requirement renewals; and curriculum development. Undertook additional scheduling duties as a result of new scheduling system. Concluded 6th year of service in these roles., 01/01/2018 - 06/30/2018. Department service.
  • Avery Holton informal review, 2017. I wrote his informal review report for RPT., 08/26/2017 - 10/06/2017. Department service.
  • Member, Working Group on Non-Tenure Line Faculty. Invited by the Dean to participate in a thoroughgoing evaluation of practices, policies, and compensation for non-tenure line faculty across units in the College. This service is ongoing during the transition to a new dean. Working group member, 09/21/2016 - 12/31/2017. College service.
  • I wrote a successful proposal to revise the Intellectual Exploration General Education attribute for COMM 2110 Introduction to Interpersonal Communication. This is now the department's sole course that fulfills the University's Social/Behavioral Science requirement. Status: Completed. 01/01/2016 - 08/15/2016. Department service.
  • Ad Hoc Committee to obtain and analyze numerical data about Communication majors, COMM course enrollments, and students' progress toward their degrees. Participant, 09/01/2015 - 03/01/2016. Department service.
  • "Supercommittee" of Graduate and Undergraduate Committees. This group is reviewing advanced upper-division (5000) courses to more closely mesh them with Basic Graduate (6000) courses. Member, 08/01/2015 - 12/31/2016. Department service.
  • Member, Steffensen Cannon Undergraduate Scholarship Committee. Continued service on this committee in 2017. 01/12/2015 - 06/30/2017. College service.
  • Communication sequences. With colleagues, I created a new undergraduate sequence in Science, Health, and Environmental Communication (CommSHER). I guided the proposal through the College Curriculum Committee and Curriculum Administration. The new sequence begins next academic year. 01/01/2015 - 12/31/2015. Department service.
  • I helped colleagues submit a successful proposal to create a new Minor in Strategic Communication. I presented the proposal to the Undergraduate Council and Academic Senate. 01/01/2015 - 11/30/2015. Department service.
  • General Education Renewals. With colleagues, I submitted a successful proposal to keep the Quantitative-Intensive (QI) General Education attribute for COMM 3710 Introduction to Quantitative Communication Research. 01/01/2015 - 02/15/2015. Department service.
  • UAC Working Group (University Asia Campus). Worked with colleagues in College of Humanities as well as Psychology, Social Work, Marriott Library, and Registrar's Office to coordinate the first year of instruction. Member, 10/2014 - 12/2014. University service.
  • Assisted with drafting Department self-study for Graduate Review. Contributor, 10/2014 - 11/2014. Department service.
  • Assisted with interviews for two staff hires (executive secretary and junior academic advisor). Participant, 07/2014 - 09/2014. Department service.
  • Assisting in recruitment of 2 faculty hires for the University Asia Campus (UAC). Participant, 06/2014 - 10/2014. Department service.
  • General Education Requirement renewals. Coordinated, drafted, and submitted successful renewal applications for General Education attributes attached to Communication courses. Coordinator, 02/2014 - 12/2014. Department service.
  • Assisting with startup of the Communication major at the University Asia Campus (UAC). This included curriculum planning and coordination with units and people across campus. Participant, 01/2014 - 12/2014. University service.
  • Undergraduate curriculum coordinator - Formal discontinuations of programs and launching of new CommSHER sequence. Also planned, presented, and implemented revisions to existing Communication sequences. Included coordination with Curriculum Administration and presentations to the Undergraduate Council and University Academic Senate. Coordinator, 01/2014 - 12/2014. Department service.
  • Coordinating with lead academic advisor and co-editing Department of Communication pages for new electronic version of the University Catalog. Coordinator and co-editor, 01/2014 - 04/2014. Department service.
  • Member, RPT ad hoc committee for tenure and promotion review, Assistant Professor Robin Jensen. 08/2013 - 12/2013. Department service.
  • Contributor to startup of the University of Utah Asia Campus. Communication will be one of the first 3 degrees offered, and I have worked with staff, faculty, and administration to plan our department's curriculum and faculty presence in South Korea. Contributor, 01/01/2013 - 12/31/2013. University service.
  • Chair, RPT ad hoc committee for formal retention review, Assistant Professor Rob Gehl. 08/2012 - 10/2012. Department service.
  • Member, search committee, journalism innovation faculty line. 07/2012 - 12/2012. Department service.
  • Associate Chair and Director of Undergraduate Studies. Responsibilities include: Coordinating curriculum with department faculty and University administration; scheduling all classes, approximately 120 each Fall and Spring, plus 40 each Summer; adjudicating grade appeals and drafting decisions for the department Chair’s review; recruiting, hiring, and training associate instructors; working with department faculty and course supervisors to assign graduate teaching fellows and TAs; coordinating daily with the department’s 3-person undergraduate advising staff; writing and coordinating proposals for new and renewed General Education and Degree Requirement attributes; and consulting with College and department technical staff to support instructional needs. 06/01/2012 - 12/31/2017. Department service.
  • Associate Chair and Director of Undergraduate Studies. Duties continuing as previously, including College committee service; several Gen Ed and Degree Requirement renewals; and curriculum development. Undertook additional scheduling duties in 2017 as a result of new scheduling system. Serving 6th year., 06/01/2012 - 12/31/2017. Department service.
  • Member, College Curriculum Committee. Responsibilities include reviewing course additions, changes, and deactivations, as well as sequences, requirements, and other curricular coordination for all College departments and programs. In my 5th year of service on this committee. 06/01/2012 - 12/31/2017. College service.
  • Chair, Undergraduate Committee. In 2016, I proposed expanding the committee from 2 members to 3. The 3 members will serve overlapping 2-year terms and represent the widest possible spectrum of department faculty areas. The goal is to create a more active Undergraduate Committee to help guide curricular and other matters. 06/01/2012 - 12/31/2017. Department service.
  • Scholarship Committee. Coordinate applications (approximately 100 annually) with undergraduate advising staff. Convene Scholarship Committee to decide awardees per merit and scholarship criteria. Introduce approximately 30 awardees at department Annual Awards Banquet. Concluded this service at year end 2017. Chair, 06/01/2012 - 12/29/2017. Department service.
  • Humanities Intellectual Explorations Area Committee, University Office of Undergraduate Studies. Member, 05/2011 - 05/2014. College service.
  • Peer Teaching Committee, Department of Communication. Member, 05/2011 - 05/2012. Department service.
  • Center for Teaching & Learning Excellence. Mentor to doctoral student pursuing Higher Education Teaching Specialist designation., 01/2010 - 12/2010. University service.
  • Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl team. Team supported by the Departments of Philosophy and Communication. Co-founder and faculty sponsor, 08/2005 - 11/2009. College service.
  • Graduate Commmittee. member, 08/2005 - 07/2007. Department service.
  • Publications Council. Chair, vice chair, member, 05/2005 - 07/2009. University service.
  • Search committee for faculty lines in diversity and journalism. Chair, 05/2005 - 02/2006. Department service.
  • Society of Professional Journalists campus chapter. Advisor, 03/2005 - 03/2010. University service.

Community Partnership

  • Secretary and member of the Board of Directors, Wasatch Public Media, Inc., a Utah nonprofit corporation that holds the license to KCPW-FM Salt Lake Public Media. 01/10/2014 - present

Honors & Awards

  • Career & Professional Development Center Faculty Recognition Award. One of 20 winners from among more than 200 nominees. The citation stated, "Your nominations spoke to your dedication to helping students find resources, figure out their career passions, and realize the possibilities that exist for their futures.". University of Utah, 04/13/2018
  • Runner-up, Eberhard Award for Outstanding Paper on a Military History Topic, for my refereed conference paper "Questioning the Atom Masters: News Coverage of Above-Ground Nuclear Testing, 1951-1953," presented at the 2016 AJHA National Conference. American Journalism Historians Association, 10/08/2016
  • Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve award. U.S. Department of Defense, 11/2013
  • Early Career Teaching Award. University of Utah, 04/2009
  • Honorable Mention, Best Practices in Teaching Media Ethics. Teaching Committee of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, 08/2007
  • Tanner Teaching Assistants Award for Undergraduate Teaching. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 02/2004
  • William Francis Clingman Jr. Ethics Award. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 04/2003
  • Roy H. Park Fellowship. School of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 08/2001
  • Gannett Co. Inc. Best of Gannett, second place, millennium category, 05/1999

Affiliations

  • Wasatch Public Media (WPM), Member of the board, 10/2014 - present
  • Utah Headliners Chapter, Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ), Board member, 2005-2009; Chapter member, 2005-present, 05/2005 - present
  • American Journalism Historians Association (AJHA), member, 01/2003 - present

In the Media

  • Interview with Daily Utah Chronicle about misinformation in social media. (Quoted along with colleague Sara Yeo.). 10/2021.
  • Interview with Salt Lake City Weekly about how journalists should handle credibility issues related to leaked documents. 06/2018.
  • On-camera interview with Fox 13 KSTU-TV about the purchase of The Salt Lake Tribune. 04/2016.
  • Interview with Salt Lake Magazine about news media ownership. 03/2016.
  • KSL Newsradio, interview on the appeal of broadcast radio amid a proliferation of digital choices. 05/2015.
  • KUER-FM, interview on the legacy of a University of Utah journalism educator. 05/2015.
  • The Salt Lake Tribune, interview on journalism layoffs. 09/2013.
  • The Salt Lake Tribune, interview on community journalism. 02/2013.
  • KCPW-FM, 40-minute segment on citizen journalism. 12/2011.
  • The Salt Lake Tribune, on journalism for digital platforms. 09/2011.
  • The Salt Lake Tribune, on impartiality in newsgathering. 08/2011.
  • Interview with The New York Times, on LDS Church ownership of the Deseret News and other media. 08/2010.
  • Deseret News, on editorial conflicts of interest. 09/2009.
  • Deseret News, on public-relations responses to phishing attacks. 05/2008.
  • The Salt Lake Tribune, on the future of newspapers. 04/2008.
  • Salt Lake City Weekly, on ethical standards for sportscasters. 09/2007.
  • KCPW-FM, on attempts to revive the Fairness Doctrine. 07/2007.
  • Salt Lake City Weekly, on independence for college journalists. 05/2007.
  • Deseret Morning News, on ethical aspects of crime coverage. 01/2007.
  • Deseret Morning News, on ethical issues in marketing. 02/2006.
  • Deseret Morning News, on coverage of the film Brokeback Mountain. 01/2006.
  • The Daily Universe, Brigham Young University, on the newsworthiness of the LDS Church to journalists outside Utah. 10/2005.
  • KUTV News, on the ethics of political messages. 09/2004.