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Mass Communications and Media Arts Faculty

The close relationships students form with our internationally renowned faculty lead to successes and paves the way for you to find your own path. Our people, working with students in small classroom settings, collaborating on numerous public service projects, or simply chatting in the hallway while going to a class, matter most.

Lisa Brooten, Associate Professor

Radio, Television, and Digital Media

Lisa Brooten holds a Ph.D. in international telecommunications and an MAIA in international development studies from Ohio University. Prior to that, she worked for years in community radio in Philadelphia and had a professional stint in radio production with the show “Fresh Air with Terry Gross” distributed by National Public Radio.



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Lisa Brooten

Office: COMM 1050G
lbrooten@siu.edu

David R. Burns, Associate Professor

Radio, Television, and Digital Media

David R. Burns is a digital media artist and publishing scholar who explores the relationships between humans, technology, and nature in his creative-research. More specifically, he focuses on the tensions between technology, culture, and nature in the public and private spheres; mediating memory and postmemory; and participatory self-expression through visual music. Burns takes an interdisciplinary approach to creating digital media art by combining computer animation, 3D modeling, 3D printing, sound design, interactive media, and physical computing to push the boundaries of artistic expression. In addition to creating hybrid projects that are both artistic exhibitions and scholarly publications, Burns publishes scholarly essays where he contextualizes his artistic projects and critically analyzes contemporary issues in media arts.



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David R. Burns

Office: COMM 2224
drburns@siu.edu
Website: www.davidrburns.com

Cade Bursell, Professor

Cinema

Cade Bursell’s creative work engages both experimental processes and a socially engaged media arts practice with a focus on human rights and environmental issues, and grounded in an understanding of the relationship between medium and meaning. Her interests include queer studies, women’s studies, environmental and animal studies and Buddhist philosophy. Her creative practice is guided by a set of ethical principles that involves a deep regard, concern and recognition of the complex interdependence of all forms of life.



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Cade Bursell

Office: Northwest Annex B212
cbursell@siu.edu

William Freivogel, Professor

School of Journalism and Advertising

Professor Bill Freivogel served as Director of the School of Journalism from 2006-14. He came to SIU after 34 years at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. He was a member of the newspaper's Washington bureau for 12 years, where he served as assistant bureau chief, focused on the Supreme Court and reported on such historic events as the assassination attempt on President Reagan and the confirmation fight over Clarence Thomas. He returned to St. Louis and became the deputy editorial page editor in 1997.



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Dong Han, Associate Professor

School of Journalism and Advertising

Dong Han’s education shifted from English language and literature to law and finally to media and communications research. From 1999 to 2004, he was a lawyer at the Legal Office of China Central Television, China’s national TV network. As a researcher, he is interested in how market relations expand and deepen in a wide array of media and cultural sectors. His papers appeared in journals including Media, Culture & Society, International Journal of Communication, and Television & New Media.



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Dong Han

Office: COMM 1226
donghan@siu.edu

Jyotsna Kapur, Professor, Director Honors Program

Cinema

Jyotsna Kapur is a Professor of Cinema and Media Studies, who is also cross-appointed with Sociology. Her research and teaching interests include: Marxist-feminist theory of media arts and culture; The politics of labor, class, race, and sexuality in neoliberalism; contemporary Indian media culture; History and theory of the documentary idea especially its redefinations in contemporary practices and digital culture; Third Cinema; and Global children's media culture.



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Jyotsna Kapur

Office: COMM 1121G
jkapur@siu.edu
CV

Kavita Karan, Professor

School of Journalism and Advertising

Dr. Kavita Karan is a Professor in the School of Journalism and Advertising. Dr. Karan received her PhD from the London School of Economics and Political Science, United Kingdom and the Master of Philosophy (M.Phil), Master of Communication and Journalism (MCJ) and Bachelor of Communication and Journalism (BCJ) from Osmania University, Hyderabad, India. Dr. Karan teaches a variety of courses that include; Communication research methods, several Advertising courses, politics and media, and health communication. Her research interests include, political communication, strategic marketing and advertising, new media technologies and development, health communication, women’s studies and Bollywood cinema.



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Kavita Karan

Office: COMM 1226
kavitak@siu.edu

Vicki Kreher, Senior Lecturer

School of Journalism and Advertising

Victoria Kreher’s classroom experience is infused with decades of award-winning experience from both the business management and the creative sides of multiple media organizations. Because of her broad experience in customer service, personal selling, publicity and promotions, as well as in newspaper, radio, television, magazine and digital media, she has taught nineteen different courses in the School of Journalism and Advertising. She has advised students in the Master of Science – Professional Media and Media Management program and has served as Interim Director of Graduate Studies. She has advised and guided multiple student organizations within and outside of her department and college. In Fall 2013, she earned an M.B.A. with a concentration in Management Information Systems from SIU College of Business.



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Vicki Kreher

Office: COMM 1236A
kreher@siu.edu

Wago Kreider, Associate Professor

Radio, Television, and Digital Media

Wago Kreider, Associate Professor, is a media artist and experimental filmmaker. His creative work engages with contemporary strategies of artistic reenactment, the reconstruction of cinematic history, and the impact of film history on our perceptions of landscape and the environment. His films have screened at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, The Rotterdam International Film Festival, the London Film Festival, the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington D.C., the Hong Kong Film Festival, Views from the Avant-Garde at the New York Film Festival, the European Media Art Festival in Osnabrück, Germany, the Paris Festival of Different & Experimental Cinema, and at the International Film Festival of Vienna. He has participated in artist residencies at the Experimental Television Center in Owego, Harvestworks Digital Media Arts Center in New York City, Basement Films/Experiments in Cinema in Albuquerque, and at Berlinale Talents as part of the Berlin International Film Festival.



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Wago Kreider

Office: COMM 1050F
wkreider@siu.edu
Website: Studio 27

Bridget Lescelius, Associate Lecturer

School of Journalism and Advertising

Bridget Lescelius’ career spans over 30 years in advertising and marketing, including vice president and partner of Spark in Phoenix, Arizona; senior associate of marketing at the Institute for Supply Management in Tempe, Arizona; co-founder and principal at The Big Idea, Inc. in Alexandria, Virginia; senior account executive at The Washington Agency in Washington, D.C.



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Bridget Lescelius

Phone: 618-536-3361
Office: COMM 1221
blescelius@siu.edu

Sarah Lewison, Associate Professor

Radio, Television, and Digital Media

Associate Professor Sarah Lewison is a media producer, artist, and writer whose work examines power, economics and political subjectivity. Her teaching and research areas include media and social change, ecological pedagogy and experimental performance. Her video work includes the documentary Fat of the Land which screened on PBS and in museums, festivals and community spaces worldwide, and is nationally noted for stimulating the do-it-yourself waste-grease bio-diesel movement. Prof. Lewison's writing about media aesthetics, social history, sustainability and culture has been published in Tema (Denmark), Journal of Northeast Studies (Hamburg, Germany), Area (Chicago), and "Failure! Experiments in Aesthetics and Social Practices" (Aesthetics and Protest Pub., LA). She holds a Master of Fine Arts degree from University of California San Diego.



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Sarah Lewison

Office: Comm 1050E
slewison@siu.edu
Website: sarahlewison.com

Walter Metz, Professor

Cinema

Walter Metz is a Professor of Film Studies who teaches film, television, theatre, and photography history, theory and criticism. As a researcher, Walter is interested in the relationship between popular media forms, such as the television sitcom and the Hollywood blockbuster film, and high, canonical literature. His book on Gilligan's Island was published by Wayne State University Press in March 2012. He is currently writing a manuscript about Dr. Seuss and the animated films made at Pixar Studios.



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Walter Metz

Phone: 618-453-2298
Office: COMM 1112
wmetz@siu.edu

waltermetz.com

H.D. Motyl, Associate Professor, Interim Director School of Theater and Dance

Radio, Television, and Digital Media

H.D. Motyl is an Associate Professor at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, where he teaches media production and writing for TV. His feature-length documentary about professional rodeo cowboys called Cowboy Christmas was honored as Best Feature Documentary at the Madrid International Film Festival and as Best of the Fest for Faculty Documentary at the Broadcast Education Association’s Festival of Media Arts.



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H.D. Motyl

Phone: 618-453-6992
hdmotyl@siu.edu

Jay Needham, Professor

Radio, Television, and Digital Media

Jay Needham is a sound artist, musician, image maker, writer-editor and cultural producer who utilizes multiple creative platforms to produce his works, many of which have a focus on sound and site-specific field research. As a hearing-divergent person, Needham makes work that often involves sensing and experiencing sound across many modalities. His sound art, works for radio, visual art, performances and installations have appeared at museums, festivals and on the airwaves, worldwide. His most recent sound installation is on permanent display in the BioMuseo, designed by Frank Gehry in The Republic of Panama.



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Jay Needham

Office: COMM 1050D
jayn@siu.edu

Heather M. O'Brien, Assistant Professor

Cinema

Heather M. O'Brien is an artist, filmmaker, and writer. Her work builds encounters with familial archives, constructs of nationhood, and the illusion of accurate memory. Interests include expanded cinema, photographic histories, and the contemporary essay film.



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Heather M. O'Brien

Office: Northwest Annex B 214
heather.obrien@siu.edu

Cinzia Padovani, Associate Professor

Radio, Television, and Digital Media

Cinzia Padovani is Associate Professor with Tenure in the Department of Radio Television and Digital Media, at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, U.S.A. She holds an MA in Education (1989, University of L’Aquila Italy) and a PhD in Media Studies (1999, University of Colorado Boulder).



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Jenny Pape, Assistant Professor of Practice

Radio, Television, and Digital Media

Jenny Pape is an award-winning sound artist and songwriter.



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Jenny Pape

Office: COMM 2219
Phone: 618-536-7555
jennypape@siu.edu

Yuhosua "Josh" Ryoo, Assistant Professor

School of Journalism and Advertising

Dr. Yuhosua (Joshua) Ryoo's research interests are at the intersection of new digital technologies (e.g., AI, robots, digital and social media), consumer psychology, and prosocial behavior. In particular, his research focuses on the individual, social, and situational factors associated with new digital technologies and examines how these factors influence people's and organizations' prosocial decision-making and behavior. In addition to various types of prosocial behavior, such as ethical consumption, environmental sustainability, and corporate social responsibility, the roles of new media (e.g., Youtube) and technology (e.g., AI and robots) are therefore in the scope of his research interests.



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Josh Ryoo

Office: COMM 1226
ryooyuhosua@siu.edu

Robert Spahr, Interim Director of the School of Media Arts, Associate Professor

Robert Spahr is a visual artist and educator who produces computational art using generative processes and genetic algorithms; digital and analog images; objects; live art and time-based media.



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Robert Spahr

Office: Northwest Annex 213B
rspahr@siu.edu

Jan Thompson, Director - Professor

School of Journalism and Advertising

Professor Thompson is a 3-time Emmy award winning filmmaker and composer.



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Jan Thompson

Office: COMM 1050J
janione@siu.edu

James Wall, Senior Lecturer

Radio, Television, and Digital Media, Journalism

James A. Wall teaches within the Electronic Media Marketing and Management sequence. Prior to becoming a full-time educator, Jim worked in the commercial broadcast industry for over twenty years in sales and marketing. He earned both a B.S. in Radio-Television and an M.A. in Media Management from SIUC.



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James Wall

Office: COMM 1050C
jwall@siu.edu

Hong Zhou, Associate Professor

Cinema

Hong is interested in fictional narrative filmmaking. His recent work includes "Night Train", a story about two strangers' encounters in a subway, "She Wears Yellow", a study of fictional characters, and "Sarah and Liz", a story about two sisters' adventures into the wildness. Initially influenced by surrealist painting and early experimental films, Hong's work explores the conflict and interplay between conscious and subconscious as narrative force in storytelling. Having recently worked as cinematographer on a new HD feature film, Hong is excited about the new creative possibilities of HD as a compelling narrative medium, and is planning on shooting his next project using the latest digital cinema technology.



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Hong Zhou

Office: COMM 1121H
hzhou@siu.edu

College of Arts and Media | 618-453-4308 |