Susan Kirkman Zake

School of Media and Journalism

240B Franklin Hall
Kent, Ohio 44242
(330) 672-2616
szake@kent.edu

Education
M.A. in journalism and mass communication, December 2011, Kent State University,
Kent, Ohio. Major: Individualized program in interactive and web communication.

B.S. in journalism, December 1988, Ohio University Honors Tutorial College,

Athens, Ohio. Major: Visual Communications.

Academic Experience
Professor, School of Media and Journalism, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio, April 2021
to present.

Associate Professor, School of Media and Journalism, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio,
August 2017 to April 2021.

Assistant Professor, School of Media and Journalism, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio,
August 2013 to July 2017.

Lecturer, School of Media and Journalism, Kent State University, August 2008 to July
2013.

Faculty newsroom adviser, Kent State University, June 2010 to August 2013, January
2016 to May 2016 and January 2017 to present. Work with The Kent Stater,
KentWired.com and TV2 on news content planning, production, collaboration and
innovation.

Summer Kent Stater newspaper adviser, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio, June 2009 to
August 2009, August 2017 to present.

Faculty manager, Equipment Services Lab, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio, August 2008
to August 2010. Revamped the equipment checkout process, managed gear purchases,
maintained inventories, and managed student workers’ scheduling and hiring.

Faculty adviser, KentNewsNet.com and KentWired.com, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio,
August 2007 to March 2014.

Faculty adviser, KSUBuzz.com, KSUFashionBlitz.com and

PortageTrailCentral.com, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio, January 2012 to January
2014.

Adjunct instructor, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio, January 2007 to August
2008.

1
Professional Experience

Akron Beacon Journal

Managing Editor for Multimedia and Special Projects. Co-managed all newsroom-
produced content and supervised half of all news-producing departments. Responsible for
all web content and multimedia created for Ohio.com. February 2006 to December 2006.

Assistant Managing Editor. Managed the newsroom and all news content in the absence
of the editor and managing editor, supervised photography and editorial art department
personnel. Responsible for all the visuals published in the newspaper and managed or
originated all redesign work. Supervised all special sections and coordinated editorial and
advertising content. Responsible for all newsroom technology, including the
recommendation and purchase of capital equipment. August 2001 to February 2006.

Deputy Metro Editor. Editor for five suburban reporters as part of a Knight Ridder
corporate leadership-training program. Supervised the photography and editorial art
departments. September 2003 to January 2004.

Interim Managing Editor. Managed all aspects of the newsroom and coordinated
coverage and planning efforts. Supervised department heads. Facilitated budgetary
planning, as well as planning for special sections and content initiatives. October 2002 to
March 2003.

Director of Photography. Responsible for all aspects of photography department

management. Managed all budgetary aspects of the department, including the purchase,
support and maintenance of all camera and computer equipment. September 1998 to
August 2001.

Photo Assignment Editor. Coordinated the photographers’ assignments with reporters

and editors in the newsroom. December 1994 to September 1998.

Picture Editor. Responsible for selection of published images and editing photographers’
work. Worked directly with page designers to coordinate photo usage and helped design
and produce photo pages and layouts. November 1991 to December 1994.

Staff Photographer. Photographed daily assignments and produced self-generated

pictures and projects for publication. September 1986 to November 1991.

The Columbus Dispatch

Staff Photographer. Photographed daily assignments and produced self-generated
pictures and projects for publication. November 1985 to September 1986.

The Tampa Tribune

Staff Photographer. Photographed daily assignments and produced self-generated
pictures and projects for publication. June 1984 to November 1985.

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Teaching

Courses taught:
Student Media Practicum in Journalism, an experiential learning class that examines
environmental issues in Northeast Ohio and emphasizes data, data visualization and
Solutions Journalism techniques.

Storytelling Across Platforms, revamped with Professor Jacqueline Marino for Fall 2020
to refocus on platform-agnostic content, with more emphasis on creating integrated stories
for social media and emerging tools.

Reporting Public Policy, formally Reporting Public Affairs, revamped for Fall 2014. A
news capstone course that teaches students how to report on issues that affect citizens in
a democracy, including elections, voting, education, crime and courts, environment,
taxation and local governance using multimedia skills.

ST: Environmental Investigations, an experiential learning class for Fall 2019 that created
a visual, web-based reporting project about the Cuyahoga River. The students learned to
apply HTML and CSS in a Bootstrap framework along with project planning and
management skills as they created storytelling multimedia-driven content.

Ethics and Issues in Mass Communication, a writing-intensive course required of all

majors in the School of Media and Journalism.

Big Data, a data reporting skills course first taught in Fall 2014. Graduate and
undergraduate students in the course produce data-driven content packages and
projects. Sometimes taught as an interdisciplinary class with the School of Digital
Sciences, now known as the School of Emerging Media and Technology.

Teaching Multimedia, a required professional course for the Online Master’s Degree for
Journalism Educators.

Web Programming for Multimedia Journalism, an interdisciplinary projects class co-

taught with an instructor from the School of Digital Sciences, now known as the School of
Emerging Media and Technology. The course is a capstone for the EMAT students. Offered
to graduate and undergraduate students.

Multimedia Storytelling: Course manager through Spring 2015 for this required skills
course that teaches platform-agnostic content creation including video, audio and
photography.

Photography 22001, an introductory photojournalism class.

New Courses Designed:

Environmental Investigations (F2019)
Student Media Practicum in Journalism (F2018)
Interviewing and Data (with Associate Professor Jan Leach, 2015)
Big Data (2014)
Multimedia Storytelling (2013)

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 Web Programming for Multimedia Journalism (with Associate Professor Jacqueline Marino
and Professor Paul Wang, Computer Science, 2011)
Teaching Multimedia (online graduate-level course, 2010)
Online Modules: Photojournalism ethics for online graduate ethics class

Other Teaching Experiences:

Founder and editor, The Collaborative NewsLab @ Kent State University, a news commons
that creates opportunities for student journalists to report and work with professional media
partners. June 2020 to present.
Faculty, Center for Scholastic Journalism Kent Summer Workshop for high school
journalism advisers, July 2019 and July 2022.
Team facilitator: “Hack the Gender Gap: A Women’s Hackathon on Diversifying AI,” hosted
at the Reed College of Media’s Media Innovation Center at West Virginia University.
November 2017. My team placed third with an app connecting members of the LGBTQ+
community to healthcare.
Team mentor, Hack the Gender Gap IoT makeathon held at the Reed College of Media’s
Media Innovation Center at West Virginia University. April 1-3, 2016
Founder and organizer, TechConnect 2015 technology workshop designed to teach basic
programming and data visualization skills to students, faculty and media professionals
Seminar instructor, Keystone Multimedia Workshop, Pennsylvania State Press
Photographers Association, 2009 to present
Co-founder, Kent State Multimedia Workshop, 2012 to 2014
Faculty member, ASNE Reynolds High School Journalism Institute, 2008 to 2015
Course manager, Multimedia Storytelling, 2013 to 2015
Guest lecturer on photojournalism, JMC Ethics classes, 2006 to present
Guest lecturer, basics of multimedia in Newswriting and Multimedia Beat Reporting
classes, 2012 to 2014
Photo critique sessions, Cuyahoga Valley Photographic Society, February 2013,
August 2013, August 2014
Session instructor, Ohio Scholastic Media Association Regional Workshop, 2010
Guest lecturer, PR Online, 2009 and 2010
Session instructor, Ohio Scholastic Media Association Regional Workshop, 2009
Guest lecturer, Cuyahoga Valley Photographic Society, “Editing for Maximum Impact,” April
2009
Session instructor, Ohio Scholastic Media Association state convention, April 3-4, 2009
Session instructor, Ohio Scholastic Media Association Region 5 Workshop, 2008
Session instructor, Ohio Scholastic Media Association state convention, April 4-5, 2008
Session instructor, Ohio Scholastic Media Association Region 1 workshop, October 15,
2008
Newspaper and website critiques, College Media Association conventions, 2012-2013

Publications – Articles and Book Chapters

Zake, Susan (professional online journal article – not refereed). “Maker Journalism:
Arduinos, Solder and a ‘Beautiful Panic’,” article discussing a new “maker” journalism
course taught at West Virginia University. Published on MediaShift’s EducationShift content
channel. MediaShift is a Knight Foundation-funded website that tells stories of how the
shifting media landscape is changing the way audiences get their news and information.
December 29, 2016.

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 Zake, Susan (book chapter). “Dealing with Disruption: How Industry Lessons are Learned
on the Job in Student Media,” provides insight and perspective into how student media
operations deal with disruption in today’s media industry caused by the Internet.
Completed book chapter in “College Media: Learning in Action” edited by Gregory Adamo,
PhD., and Allan DiBiase, EdD., Peter Lang Publishing Group. December 2016.

Zake, Susan (book chapter). “Laws, Rules and Regulations: Student Media Learning
Through Obstacles, Obstructionism and Opacity,” explores the various restrictions and
difficulties encountered by student journalists as they try to do their jobs, including ignored
public records requests, misinterpreted FERPA privacy laws and conflicts with university
administrators. Sole author of this completed book chapter in “College Media: Learning in
Action” edited by Gregory Adamo, PhD., and Allan DiBiase, EdD., Peter Lang Publishing
Group. December 2016.

Zake, Susan (professional online journal article – not refereed). “Maker Spaces, Gender
Gaps and Helping Young Women to Succeed,” article discussing the importance of holding
“women-only” tech events. Published as part of a special series on training teachers on
MediaShift’s EducationShift content channel. MediaShift is a Knight Foundation-funded
website that tells stories of how the shifting media landscape is changing the way
audiences get their news and information. April 20, 2016.

Zake, Susan (professional online journal article – not refereed). “Five Takeaways from a
Discussion About Teaching Data Reporting,” article discussing some best practices for
incorporating data and data skills in journalism classes. Published on MediaShift’s
EducationShift content channel. December 17, 2015.

Zake, Susan (professional newsletter article – not refereed). “Great Ideas for Teaching and
Tech Use,” article analyzing the amount of technology used in entries for the Great Ideas
for Teachers competition, for the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass
Communication’s Communication Technology Newsletter, August 1, 2015.

Zake, Susan (professional online journal article – not refereed). “How a Mini-Hack Can
Move Students Forward,” article explaining how to hold a technology training event for
journalism students. Published on MediaShift’s EducationShift content channel. July 2,
2015.

Zake, Susan (sidebar within a book chapter). “The Disruptive Impact of Emerging
Technology: Big Data and Digital Disruption,” case study of Digital First Media included
with this book chapter authored by Associate Professor Gordon J. Murray for
Contemporary Research Methods and Data Analytics in the News Industry, edited by
William J. Gibbs and Joseph McKendrick, IGI Global, 2014. Published July 2015

Publications – Photographs
Thousands of photographs published under my byline from 1984 to 1998 as a staff
photographer and picture editor for the Tampa Tribune, Columbus Dispatch and Akron
Beacon Journal. From 1998 to 2006 at the Akron Beacon Journal, I served as the main
editor, planner and design supervisor of hundreds of articles and special publications,
in print and online. I continue to cover local news events as a photojournalist

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Publications – Books
“May 4, 1970: The Kent State Story Told in Pictures,” photo editor, curator and
researcher for this book published by the Akron Beacon Journal that
documents the photographic story of the May 4, 1970, confrontation between
protesters on the Kent State campus and Ohio National Guardsmen. Ninety-
two percent of unsolicited customer reviews of the book rated it with five stars.
March 2020.

“Wheels of Fortune: The Story of Rubber in Akron,” photo editor and researcher for this
book that encapsulates a 52-week-long Akron Beacon Journal series about the rubber
industry’s roots in Akron, Ohio. The book is the highest-selling volume ever published by
the University of Akron Press. 1998. The photograph on the front cover, which I curated,
was used as the reference for the rubber worker statue erected in 2021 in downtown
Akron.

Picture editor for “Eye of the Storm,” a book of photographs produced by

Knight Ridder photographers that documented the Gulf War, 1991.

Research – Invited Talks, Presentations & Panels

Presenter: “Shooting and editing storytelling video,” proposed and accepted session with
Aaron Zake at the virtual Spring National College Media Convention in New York, New
York. March 10, 2022.

Presenter: “Finding stories in data: An introduction to data journalism,” proposed and

accepted session with Julie Patel Liss, California State University Los Angeles, at the virtual
Fall National College Media Convention. Oct. 24, 2020.

Presenter: “Before the Holocaust: Jews of Tetiev,” at the Jewish Genealogy Society of
Cleveland in Cleveland, OH., January 8, 2017.

Presenter: “Convergence, collaboration, content: The evolution of our ‘digital-first’

newsroom,” with Mitch McKenney, Kent State University, at the Associated Collegiate
Press National College Media Convention in Washington, D.C., October 23, 2016.

Poster presentation: “The People vs. The Simpsons: The First Amendment Survey,
Multimedia Style,” Great Ideas for Teachers top-15 poster with John Bowen, Kent State, at
the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication annual convention in
Minneapolis, MN, August 4, 2016.

Panelist: “Teaching Sensor Journalism: Opportunities, Challenges and What’s Next,” with
Matt Waite, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Cindy Royal, Texas State University and
Jeremy Littau, Lehigh University at the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass
Communication annual convention in Minneapolis, MN, August 4, 2016.

Research presentation: Invited to discuss “Sea change: Results of a Student Media

Survey on the Effects of Disruptive Innovation,” at the Associated Collegiate Press/College
Media Association National College Media Convention in Austin, TX, October 29, 2015.
Panelist: “Dōmo arigatō, Mr. Roboto: The Merits (and Ethics) of Robot Reporting in
Sports,” invited with Brad Schultz, Mississippi, Mary Lou Sheffer, Southern Mississippi,

6
Janie MacCauley, Associated Press and Molly Yannity, Quinnipiac, at the Association for
Education in Journalism and Mass Communication annual convention in San Francisco,
CA, August 8, 2015

Research presentation: “The Crooked River and Public Lab: Exploring Open Source
Investigative Tools,” invited as part of a mini-workshop session sponsored by the
Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication about bringing the
Knight News Challenge into the JMC classroom. With moderator Jennifer H. McGill,
executive director of AEJMC, Scott Parrott and Chip Brantley, Alabama, and Amy Schmitz
Weiss, San Diego State, at the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass
Communication annual convention in San Francisco, CA, August 7, 2015.

Panelist: Ethics in Photography, invited by the Cuyahoga Valley Photo Society, Cleveland,
Ohio, October 2014.

Research presentation: “Mini-Workshop Session: Bringing the Knight News Challenge

into Your Classroom,” panelist invited by the Association for Education in Journalism and
Mass Communication and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. With moderator
Jennifer H. McGill, executive director of AEJMC, Julie Jones, Oklahoma University,
Jeanine Guidry, Virginia Commonwealth and Scott Parrott, Alabama at the Association for
Education in Journalism and Mass Communication annual convention in Montreal,
Quebec, August 2014. Listed as a highlight of the conference in the AEJMC newsletter.

Panelist: “Half Teacher, Half Coach: Project Learning and Interdisciplinary Course
Design,” invited with Sharon Bloyd-Peshkin, Columbia College Chicago, Seth Gitner,
Syracuse and Jeff Inman, Drake University at the Association for Education in Journalism
and Mass Communication annual convention in Montreal, Quebec, August 2014.

Panelist: “In Search of Transparency: Covering Closed Presidential Searches” —

Proposed and accepted with Michael Bragg, editor in chief of the Daily Appalachian, and
Frank LoMonte, Student Press Law Center at the College Media Association’s Spring
National College Media Convention in New York, March 2014.

Panelist: “A National Student Media Initiative on Rape” — Invited with David

Simpson, Georgia Southern University and Frank LoMonte, Student Press Law
Center at the College Media Association’s Spring National Convention in New York,
March 2014.

Panelist: “How to be a Watchdog: Using Public Records Requests to do Great Stories” —

Proposed this accepted with Frank LoMonte, Student Press Law Center at the College
Media Association’s Spring National Convention in New York, March 2014.

Panelist: “Five Great Public Records Story Ideas You Can Do Yourself” — With Mark
Goodman, Knight Fellow in Scholastic Journalism, Kent State University at the Associated
Collegiate Press/College Media Association National College Media Convention in New
Orleans, October 26, 2013.

Panelist: “Wanted: A National Student Media Initiative on Rape” — Invited with Frank
LoMonte, director of the Student Press Law Center, David Simpson, former AP Associated
Chief of Bureau, Erica Beshears Perel, University of North Carolina, at the Associated

7
Collegiate Press/College Media Association National College Media Convention in New
Orleans, October 26, 2013.

Panelist: “Developing a Mobile App and Doing It Right the First Time” — Invited with Tim
Roberts, iCampusTimes, and Brad Arendt, Director of Boise State Student Media, at the
Associated Collegiate Press/College Media Association National College Media
Convention in New Orleans, October 25, 2013.

Panelist: “Converged, Collaborative or Just Plain Crazy” — Proposed and accepted

session with Katy Coduto, TV2 KSU general manager and Lydia Coutre, Daily Kent Stater
editor at the Associated Collegiate Press/ College Media Association National College
Media Convention in New Orleans, October 25, 2013.

Panelist: “How to be a Watchdog: Using Public Records Requests to do Great Stories”—

With Frank LoMonte, director of the Student Press Law Center at the College Media
Association’s Spring National Convention in New York, March 2013.

Presenter: “Not in My Newspaper! Publishing Sensitive Pictures” — College Media

Association’s Spring National Convention in New York, March 2013.

Presenter: “I’m Shooting Up Your School!” — Media law session presented at the
Associated Collegiate Press/College Media Association National College Media Convention
in Chicago, Illinois, October 31, 2012.

Panelist: "FOIA Requests and You. How to Get Access to the Information You Need" —
with Mark Goodman, Knight Chair in Scholastic Media, Kent State University, College
Media Association’s Spring National Convention, in New York, March 2012.

Presenter: “Not Your Father’s Newspaper: Redesigning the Daily Kent Stater” – Design
session presented at the 90th Annual Associated Collegiate Press/College Media
Association National College Media Convention in Orlando, Florida, October 11, 2011.

Guest speaker: Cuyahoga Valley Photographic Society, “Editing for Maximum Impact,”
April 2009.

Other Experiences:
Founder and organizer, TechConnect 2015 technology workshop designed to teach basic
programming and data visualization skills to students, faculty and media professionals

Seminar instructor, Keystone Multimedia Workshop, Pennsylvania State Press

Photographers Association, 2009 to 2016

Co-founder, Kent State Multimedia Workshop, 2012 to 2014

Multimedia faculty member, ASNE Reynolds High School Journalism Institute, 2008 to
2015

Course manager, Multimedia Storytelling, 2013 to 2015

8
Service – National

Moderator: “From college print to professional broadcast: Working for network TV,” proposed
and accepted session with Ian Flickinger, 60 Minutes, and Andrew Keiper, Fox News
Investigative, at the Spring National College Media Convention, New York, New York,
March 10, 2022.

Moderator: “Community college to the pros, with a university stop in between,” proposed
and accepted session with Karl Schneider, Naples Daily News, Alex Delaney-Gesing, MJH
Life Sciences & Opthalmology Times and Laina Yost, The Chronicle-Telegram, at the virtual
Fall National College Media Convention, Oct. 23, 2020.

Moderator: “A conversation with Connie Schultz,” proposed and accepted session with
Connie Schultz, professional-in-residence at Kent State, at the virtual Fall National College
Media Convention. Oct. 23, 2020.

Moderator: “Building professional partnerships: Finding opportunities outside of student

media,” proposed and accepted session with Kevin Dilley, Kent State University,
Jacqueline Marino, Kent State University and Ben Wolford, The Portager, at the virtual Fall
National College Media Convention. Oct. 24, 2020.

Moderator: “News disruptors: Finding new business models for community news,”
proposed and accepted session with Mandy Jenkins, The Compass Experiment (Mahoning
Matters), Jay Allred, Richland Source, Ben Wolford, The Portager and Chris Horne, The
Devil Strip, at the virtual Fall National College Media Convention. October 24, 2020.

2019- Spring 2022 Chair: Digital/multimedia planning committee for the College Media
Association’s spring and fall national conventions programming.

2016 Chair: Best of the Web/Best of Digital contest, Association for Education in
Journalism and Mass Communication, Communication Technology Division. Continued in
2017 and 2018 to provide web support and hosting for the contest.

Moderator: “Demystifying Code: Teaching Coding and Coding Literacy to Journalism

Students,” panel discussion at the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass
Communication annual convention in Minneapolis, MN. The panel was featured as a “Top
Teaching Takeaways from AEJMC” in an article on the MediaShift website, August 4, 2016.

Moderator: “Social media, web-based technologies, and mobile devices in higher

education,” panel discussion at the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass
Communication annual convention in Minneapolis, MN, August 6, 2016.

Mentor: Hack the Gender Gap: A Women’s IoT Makeathon hosted at the Reed College of
Media’s Media Innovation Center at West Virginia University. April 1-3, 2016.

Moderator: “Stayin' Alive: Ideas to Reinvent Your Student Media Operations,” proposed
and accepted session with Charlie Weaver, University of Oregon and Chuck Clark, Western
Kentucky University at the Associated Collegiate Press/College Media Association National
College Media Convention in Austin, TX, October 30, 2015

9
Moderator: Research session for the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass
Communication Great Ideas for Teachers (GIFT) competition. AEJMC annual convention in
San Francisco, CA, August 6, 2015.

Moderator: High-Density Refereed Paper Research Session, Topic: Research on

Facebook, at the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication annual
convention in San Francisco, CA, August 8, 2015.

Moderator: “Product Patrol” Breakout Session — Invited to lead a breakout session to

discuss and report on how news organizations balance the revenue department's desire
for new products and new audiences with the demands of daily journalism at the American
Society of News Editors’ Hacking News Leadership Conference in Austin, Texas, May
2014.

Moderator: Workshop Session: Beyond Storytelling: How to Turn Oral History into
Scholarship and Public Knowledge at the Association for Education in Journalism and
Mass Communication annual convention in San Francisco, CA, August 5, 2015.

Moderator: “Teaching Newsroom Math: Demystifying Data Skills in the Journalism

Classroom,” proposed and organized this teaching panel discussion with Katy Culver,
University of Wisconsin-Madison, Steve Doig, Arizona State University, Dianne Finch, Elon
University and Nick Geidner, Tennessee, at the Association for Education in Journalism and
Mass Communication annual convention in San Francisco, CA, August 6, 2015.

Invited Member: National Press Photographers Association Technology Task Force –

Helped research, rebuild and launch this professional photojournalist association’s member
website and national photo contest software for the annual Best of Photojournalism
competition, February 2015 to 2016.

Teaching chair and Great Ideas For Teachers judge coordinator, Association for
Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, Communication Technology Division,
2014 to 2016.

Moderator: “Abominable Ethics: How to Manage When Reporters Make Stuff Up,”
proposed and accepted session with Associate Professor Mitch McKenney, The Kent
Stater Managing Editor Madeleine Winer and Student Press Law Center director Frank
LoMonte at the Associated Collegiate Press/College Media Association National College
Media Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, October 2014.

Invited reviewer: “Multimedia Storytelling for Digital Communicators: A Multi-Platform

World” by Seth Gitner, M. E. Sharpe, Inc., 2014. Author personally requested additional
feedback from me following some additions to the original manuscript. Mentioned in the
acknowledgments section of the book.

Convention programming committee: College Media Association, 2010 to 2015.

Responsible for coordinating the sessions related to media law, photojournalism and
multimedia newsrooms.

10
University Service
Academic Complaint Committee, August 2022 to present
Search committee, tenure-track professor in the School of Media and Journalism, October
2022
Non-voting member, Kent State Student Media Board, June 2010 to August 2013, January
2016 to May 2016 and January 2017 to present
Undergraduate Studies committee, August 2015 to present
Ad-hoc web redesign committee, August 2020 to August 2021
Member, exhibit planning committee for “WITNESS: The Pivotal Role of Students in
Documenting the May 4 Shootings”
Search committee, Director of the School of Media and Journalism, August 2019
Search committee for senior research position shared between School of Digital Sciences
and School of Media and Journalism, May 2018
Search committee for tenure-track professor in the digital media production sequence, May
2018
Member, School of Digital Sciences IAC/ICC Joint Committee Fall 2017 to Spring 2020
Search committee, assistant professor for an open photojournalism position, August 2015
Search committee, Director of Student Media, Kent State Office of Student Media, August
2014
Member, University Council on Technology, December 2014 to May 2017
JMC Media Board, Aug. 2014 to present
Ad-Hoc Technology Committee, School of Media and Journalism, 2014 to 2018
Search committee, Senior Media Specialist, School of Media and Journalism, 2014
Search committee, Kent State School of Media and Journalism Director Search, 2012
Member, Kent State School of Media and Journalism Executive Committee, 2012
Judge, Osman C. Hooper & Ohio Collegiate Newspaper & Best Website Awards, Ohio
Newspaper Association, 2011 to present
Member, Kent State College of Communication & Information Recruitment & Retention
committee, 2011 to 2014; Student Media Shadow Days coordinator
Faculty member, Poynter Kent State Media Ethics Workshop planning committee, 2010 to
present
Official photographer, Poynter Kent State Media Ethics Workshop, 2008 to present
Selection committee, ASNE Reynolds High School Journalism Institute, 2008 to 2014
Website consultant, JEASPRC.com, OSMAONLINE.com, and Principalsguide.org, 2008
to present
Website technical consultant, 45words.com and CSJKENT.com, 2008 to 2013
Faculty member, Curriculum Committee, 2010 and 2014
Faculty member, Scholarship committee, 2009 to 2010
Website technical consultant, KentCribs.com, 2009 to 2014
Contest judge, Ohio Scholastic Media Association 2008 to present
NTT faculty member, Ad-hoc governance committee, 2008 to 2011
Chair of Student Media Convergence Task Force, 2007

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JMC Graduate Student Committees
Sarah Taylor, in progress
Colleen King, in progress
Craig Williams, in progress
Lydia Taylor, Fall 2019
Taylor Hudak, Fall 2018
Erik Alexeff, Spring 2016
Fred Barrett, Fall 2015
Caitlyn Callahan, Spring 2015
Austin Corthell, Spring 2015
Chaoxin Wang, Summer 2014
David Foster, Summer 2014
Doug Brown, Summer 2013
Traci Hale Brown, Summer 2013
Lisa Bowen, Spring 2013

Service – Local
Judge, Cuyahoga Valley Photographic Society’s Member’s Photo Contest, November 2015
Judge, Cuyahoga Valley Photographic Society’s Members’ Show, August, 2014
Judge, Cleveland Plain Dealer Travel Photo Contest, March 2013
Judge, Cuyahoga Valley Photographic Society and Akron Public Library Photography
Contest,
October 2012, February 2015
Volunteer, Family Promise of Summit County Homeless Network, 2007 to present

Honors and Awards

2021 – Society of Environmental Journalists Fund for Environmental Journalism Award

with The Land, a non-profit newsroom covering Cleveland neighborhoods. The $5,000
competitive grant supported two student interns who reported on environmental issues in
Cleveland neighborhoods.

2021 – Cleveland Foundation Environmental Justice Journalism Grant to fund a reporting

partnership focused on environmental justice between the Kent State NewsLab, The Land,
Ideastream/WKSU, La Mega Nota and NEOSOJO. The competitive grant of $10,000 paid five
student journalists to report on the disproportionate effects of climate change in
underrepresented areas of the city.

2020 - Distinguished Adviser Award, Four-Year Multimedia, from the College Media
Association. Presented to a CMA member who has had five or more years experience in
college student media advising, has distinguished service in multimedia and is an adviser at
the time of the nomination.

2020 — Scripps Howard Foundation Journalism Grant to fund the Collaborative News
Lab at Kent State University. The competitive grant of $7500, extended into February 2021,
paid to hire three recent Kent State journalism graduates to work part-time as reporters for
local professional media partners.

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2017 to present— Selected as a pilot school to work with the Ohio News Connection, a
bureau of Public News Services. Students produce public policy stories that include text,
audio, and data visualizations that are distributed via ONC to more than 90 media partners,
typically radio stations in Ohio, and through PNS’s national channels. Renewed five times for a
total of $27,000 from the Gund Foundation.

2019 — Nominated for the Distinguished Adviser Award, Four-Year Broadcast, from the
College Media Association.

2018 — Selected fellow, Kavli Science Editing Workshop, held September 11-12 in Austin,
TX. The workshop brought together two dozen journalists to explore the challenges, ethics,
and opportunities in editing outstanding science stories and integrating science into daily
journalism.

2017 — Tow-Knight Disruptive Journalism Educator Fellow examining the topic area of
“Finding stuff that works: Best practices for growing student experimentation and encouraging
innovative ways to tell stories.”

2017 —Summer Research and Creative Activity Appointment of $6500 to work on Before the
Holocaust: The Jews of Tetiev documentary film and website project.

2016 — Top 15 AEJMC Great Ideas for Teachers poster competition

Lesson plan was judged one of the best 15 of 40 entries for “The People vs. The Simpsons:
The First Amendment Survey, Multimedia Style

2016 — Finalist, AEJMC –Peter Lang Publishing Scholarsourcing Book Series

Book proposal voted on and selected as one of six finalists from 18 entries for “The Greatest of
GIFTs: The Best of Great Ideas for Teachers.”

2015 — AEJMC Best of the Web Competition

CrookedRiverChronicles.com was awarded a second place in the national Association for
Education in Journalism and Mass Communication Best of the Web competition for Web
Design in the Service of Storytelling, which rewards elegance in website interactive design.
There were 39 entries overall.

2015 — Hearst Journalism Awards Multimedia Team Reporting Award

CrookedRiverChronicles.com was awarded 9th place in the multimedia team reporting category
in the 2015 Hearst Journalism Awards Program, often considered the “Pulitzer Prizes” of
college journalism. The award helped our school place 11th overall in the Hearst National
Championship contest; it is the first time our school placed in this category.

2014 — Knight News Challenge Bridge Grant funding the Crooked River Project.
One of two recipients of this competitive grant of $8000, plus $1250 in travel money. The
grant funded the purchase of open-source, DIY testing kits through the Knight-funded Public
Laboratory for Open Technology and Science that allowed students in my Web
Programming for Multimedia Journalism class to collect, report and interpret independent
environmental data about the Cuyahoga River.

2013 — Campus Lifeline: A College Report on Suicide, awarded the Associated Press
Media Editors’ (APME) Innovator of the Year for College Students. The students examined the

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complex issues surrounding college suicide through in-depth articles, infographics and data-
driven interactives. The result was the first comprehensive, journalistic exploration of college
suicide undertaken by Kent State University students. While JMC student journalists
conceived, researched and wrote stories, programming and design students developed the
look, feel and functionality of the Campus Lifeline website.

2010 — Summer Teaching Development Grant

Awarded this competitive grant from the University Teaching Council for development of a new
course with Computer Science. Web Publishing for Multimedia Journalism created teams of
students from Journalism and Computer Science that created data-driven interactives, news
applications and other tools for local media.

Pulitzer Prizes:
2006 — Team member awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Meritorious Public Service for
coverage of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina as part of the staff of the Biloxi Sun-Herald.

1994 — Team member awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Meritorious Public Service for “A
Question of Color,” the Akron Beacon Journal’s series exploring race relations in Akron.

1987 — Team member awarded the Pulitzer Prize for General News Reporting for
deadline coverage of the attempted takeover of the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company.

Highlighted personal and staff art department awards at the Akron Beacon
Journal:
Society for News Design • Print magazine • Communication Arts magazine • The Society of
Illustrators • National Headliners • Cleveland Press Club • Ohio SPJ • The Associated Press of
Ohio • National Association of Black Journalists • Creativity

Highlighted personal and staff photography awards at the Akron Beacon Journal:
National Press Photographers Association • Associated Press • Cleveland Press Club • Ohio
Society of Professional Journalists • Society for News Design • Ohio News Photographers
Association

2003 — Selected to attend Knight Ridder Corporation’s Assigning Editor training conference.

1999 to 2005 — Member, Knight Ridder Corporation’s annual Leadership Development

Review, a corporate program designed to identify and train managers with executive
potential.

1989 —Fifth place, Ohio News Photographers Association Clip Photographer of the Year.

Student Media Awards:

Society of Professional Journalists Region IV Mark of Excellence Awards • Student Society of
News Design • American Collegiate Press • College Media Advisers Convention Best of Show •
College Media Advisers Pinnacle Awards • Associated Collegiate Press Photo Excellence
Awards • AEJMC student magazine contest award winner • Hearst Awards • Associated
Collegiate Press Online Pacemaker Award • Associated Collegiate Press Newspaper
Pacemaker Award • ACP/CMA National College Media Convention • Ohio Newspaper

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Association Ohio Collegiate Newspaper Awards • Center for Innovation in College Media
Awards

Exhibits
1995 – Co-curator for a gallery show at the Akron Art Museum of historical photos from
Akron’s rubber industry.

Current Memberships
Online News Association
Investigative Reporters and Editors
College Media Association

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