Two new faculty members with strong and varied professional and educational backgrounds joined the ranks in the School of Communications in the Winter and Spring of 2009.
The two additions bring the school’s number of faculty and staff to 46.
New faculty and staff members, in alphabetical order, are:
Michelle Ferrier (not pictured) comes to Elon from the Daytona Beach News-Journal, where she was the managing editor of online communities. Before that, she worked at the Daytona newspaper as a columnist, copy editor and graphic designer. She was named a finalist in the 207 opinion writing competition by the National Association of Black Journalists. She also worked in the strategic communications field for 11 years, in roles such as publications manager for the Greater Washington Society of Association Executives, managing editor for publications of the American Physical Therapy Association and general manager of “Youth Today” for the American Youth Work Center. In addition to leading undergraduate courses, Ferrier, an associate professor, will also teach in the new Interactive Media Master’s program, which begins this summer. She obtained her Ph.D. from the University of Central Florida, her M.A. from the University of Memphis and her B.S. from the University of Maryland.
Tim McMahon previously taught at New York University before joining the School of Communications here as an assistant professor. He has 25 years of professional experience, most recently as the senior vice president for corporate marketing and communications at ConAgra Foods, a Fortune 100 company. He has also served as press secretary for a successful congressional race, as marketing director for Godfather’s Pizza, as director of national advertising for Pizza Hut and as president of McMahon Marketing Communications. He authored a chapter on integrated communication in “Reputation Management: The Key to Successful Corporate and Organizational Communication.” He has experience teaching business and communications courses. At Elon, he will teach strategic communications classes. McMahon obtained his Ph.D. in Leadership and Organizational Communications at Gonzaga University, his M.A. from Seton Hall and his B.A. from the University of Nebraska at Omaha.