Faculty

The Graduate faculty in the Department of MMAJCS brings extensive professional experience along with outstanding academic credentials.  They represent many years of experience in communication research, media criticism, journalism broadcasting, video, film, and audio production, public relations, advertising, print design, and corporate communication. Our faculty work closely with our graduate students on a variety of projects.

Dr. Susan Hilton, Associate Professor and Department Chair. Dr. Hilton joined the department in 1991, serving as the publication and graphics design expert for our faculty.  Dr. Hilton has also served as the Department’s Chair and Graduate Coordinator since 2003.  She teaches the graduate course MMAJ 525: Mass Communication Theory. She has produced several interactive multimedia programs for the Oil Heritage Region and local history museums.

Dr. Scott Kuehn, Professor. A member of the department’s faculty since 1987, Dr. Kuehn’s teaching activity has centered largely on communication research, media criticism, and new media technologies in both the undergraduate and graduate programs.  He currently teaches  MMAJ 621 Mass Communication Research.

Dr. Kuehn was the first faculty member on campus to develop online media for use in his courses, and has advised many M.S. thesis projects. Dr. Kuehn was named the Distinguished Faculty member in the College of Arts and Sciences in 2005. He is the author of numerous scholarly articles and research presentations. His research areas have included the adaptation, use and gratifications of new media technology; media criticism; and communication research methodology.

Dr. Andrew Lingwall, Assistant Professor. A faculty member in the MMAJCS Department since Fall 2004, Dr. Lingwall brings to the university broad professional expertise in public relations and integrated marketing communications. He teaches most of the courses in the department’s Public Relations concentration. As a member of the graduate faculty, he teaches MMAJ 551: PR Message Design and MMAJ 558: Society, Law and Media Technology.

Dr. Lingwall has been a leader in developing and teaching online courses in the MMAJCS Department. Last spring, Dr. Lingwall founded Clarion University’s first-ever chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA). He now serves as faculty advisor to the chapter, which currently has 35 members. Dr. Lingwall is also the 2004-06 Ethics Chair with PRSA Pittsburgh’s Board of Directors. This connection has allowed him to bring numerous PR professionals to the Clarion campus for guest lectures, and to help students make connections for internships and career positions.

Dr. Lingwall is now working with a colleague from Northwestern University to conduct an online survey research project titled “Determining the Frequency and Nature of Integrated Marketing Communication Curricula in University Programs.”

Dr. Robert Nulph, Assistant Professor. Joining the MMAJCS Department in Fall 2005, Dr. Nulph brings with him extensive experience in film, video and broadcast.  Dr. Nulph’s primary areas of expertise are in production planning, directing, lighting, and video & film scripting.  Graduate courses he currently teaches include  MMAJ 559: Management of the Communication Process and MMAJ 560 Audio and Television Production.

For the past 20 years, Dr. Nulph has worked as an independent video/film producer with his own firm, Visual Logic Productions. His clients have included QVC Network, the Boy Scouts of America, and the Parkinson Foundation of the Heartland. In 2005, Dr. Nulph wrote, produced, directed and edited an 8-video instructional series titled The Parkinson Care Series. In 2003 Dr. Nulph wrote, produced, directed and edited “The Petting Zoo” an instructional video designed for 3rd and 4th graders. This production won a 1st place at the KAN Film Festival in Lawrence Kansas, a Telly Award, An Omni Intermedia Award and the coveted International CINE Golden Eagle Award.

Dr. Nulph also has earned more than 20 awards including a Communicator Crystal Award, Telly Award, International Cindy Award, National Videographer Award of Excellence, and a 1st Place at the Broadcast Education Associations Faculty Media Awards, all for the 30-minute documentary “In Search of a Champion- The Young Onset Parkinson Project. Dr. Nulph’s 60-minute documentary “Circuit Chautauqua: A Bridge Between Two Centuries” garnered an invitation from the New York International Independent Film Festival and premiered at its Los Angeles Venue. This production also earned four awards. Dr. Nulph has been published extensively in industry journals such as Videomaker. More than 30 of his Videomaker columns are now published online and are used by educational institutions across the United States.

Dr. Michael Torres, Assistant Professor. Dr. Torres joined the MMAJCS Department in 2003. As with other faculty in the department, Dr. Torres worked extensively as a media professional prior to his appointment as a professor. In the graduate program, he teaches MMAJ 565: Photography and Graphic Production. His special areas of expertise include film and television production, and script writing.

Outside of the classroom, Dr. Torres has been as a writer, producer, and director of docudrama and film projects that have been broadcast in more than 40 countries. He has worked as a producer and director with the Christian Broadcasting Network, and as a freelance videographer and director with the Mennonite Board of Missions.

Dr. Joanne Washington, Associate Professor. Dr. Washington has taught with the MMAJCS Department since 1987. During that time, her teaching, research and service to the university have been extensive. At the graduate level, Dr. Washington teaches MMAJ 548: Distance Learning: Media Strategies and MMAJ 641: Professional Communication Writing.

From 1999-2003, Dr. Washington served as department chair, graduate coordinator, and interim supervisor of communication services with the MMAJCS Department.

Dr. Washington has earned a significant number of grants, and will be on sabbatical during the 2006-2007 academic year to implement a symposium and produce a documentary about the role of hip-hop music on American culture. Dr. Washington has written successful grants such as Cyber-TV multimedia software for the MMAJCS Department; Project M.O.V.E., a state grant to build a digital video laboratory for high-school students; and “Bytes, Camera, Action”, a Pennsylvania Department of Education grant to provide a multimedia technology camp for students in the A-C Valley School District. For the past two years, Dr. Washington has served as an external grant reviewer for the Institute for Youth Development.

Dr. Washington has authored numerous scholarly articles and research presentations. Her research areas have included message design, multicultural communication, distance education, and training and development.

Last Updated 04/07/07