David A. Copeland
Distinguished University Professor, 2017
David A. Copeland has a master’s degree in divinity and a master’s degree in church history from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, North Carolina, and a doctorate in mass communications research from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Before coming to Elon, he taught at Emory & Henry College, where the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching named him the Virginia Professor of the Year in 1998. He worked for seven years in North Carolina as a reporter, photographer, sports editor and news editor for daily and weekly newspapers.
A prolific media historian, Copeland has been the series editor for more than 30 books on media history and the interaction of media and society, and has written 12 books. Among his latest works are “The News Media: A Documentary History” and “The Media’s Role in Defining the Nation: The Active Voice.” He was honored in 2010 with the American Journalism Historians Association’s lifetime achievement award, the highest honor the association bestows upon its members. He received Elon’s Distinguished Scholar Award in 2006 and in 2012 he received the university’s Daniels-Danieley Award for Excellence in Teaching.