Three School of Communications faculty lead AEJMC groups

Three School of Communications faculty members are serving as elected leaders of groups within the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication.

Consisting of 3,500 members, AEJMC has 18 divisions and 10 interest groups for communication educators, graduate students and media professionals.

AEJMC executive director Jennifer McGill said only a small number of universities have had three faculty members leading AEJMC groups simultaneously, which brings distinction to Elon.

Associate Professor Frances Ward-Johnson leads the 180-member Minorities and Communication Division, a group dedicated to advancing research, teaching, scholarship and initiatives that explore the relationship between racial and ethnic minorities and mass communication.

Associate Professor Amanda Sturgill leads the Communication and Technology Division, which consists of 215 researchers, teachers and professionals interested in how new communication technologies are changing media and society.

Associate Professor Glenn Scott heads the Participatory Journalism Interest Group, a community of 80 scholars interested in research and teaching about blogging, hyper-local media and audience contributions to online news operations of mainstream media.

In their roles, Ward-Johnson, Sturgill and Scott will preside over business meetings and sessions at the upcoming AEJMC annual convention Aug. 5-9 in San Francisco. Elected as heads by division members at last year’s convention, they will continue their duties through Oct. 1.

Each division or interest group sponsors research and discussion about high quality teaching in the sub-field. Divisions and interest groups also contribute to the international conversation about quality and ethical practice of mass communications through their activities in professional freedom and responsibility.

A number of Elon School of Communications faculty members are active in AEJMC and will participate in the upcoming convention. Elon Associate Professor Byung Lee is immediate past head of the organization’s Visual Communication Division.