Saint Michael's College

Title: Assistant Professor of Journalism

Education: B.A. Brown University; M.A. University of Missouri

Areas of Expertise/Research Interests: Documentary photography; photo elicitation; interdisciplinary service learning experiences

Testimonial: The size of Saint Michael's and the strong sense of community allows for meaningful interaction between faculty and students.

What inspires students the most in your classes and/or your academic area? Since media and mass communication saturate our culture, students can easily see the relevance of course material. Whether it is critiquing media coverage of a political debate, analyzing gender roles in music videos, discussing the implications of social networking sites, or writing an article for the school newspaper, students can directly relate theory and practice to their daily lives.

What is your favorite class to teach, and why? Photojournalism is my favorite class to teach because visually storytelling and the documentary process allow students to ask questions, delve deeply into issues and share stories that need to be told. The course balances history, theory and ethics with hands-on documentary experience.

What kinds of unique opportunities are available to students in your classes or department? In the spring of 2007, I team-taught a service-learning class called HIV/AIDS in East Africa with Political Science Professor Trish Siplon. After taking this class, students traveled to Tanzania for three weeks where we worked closely with the Ilula Orphan Program to document the projects and community programs this organization supports. Students created a Web site for the orphan program and wrote grants for funding.

Favorite quote: "There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as if everything is."
- Albert Einstein

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