Alfredo Sanchez
Alfredo Sanchez, M.S., is an associate professor in the Journalism and Media Production Department at Metropolitan State University of Denver.
Department: Journalism and Media Production
Shaun T. Schafer
Shaun T. Schafer is the associate vice president of curriculum, academic effectiveness and policy development in the Department of Academic Affairs at the Metropolitan State University of Denver. Schafer is also professor in the Journalism and Media Production Department. His areas of expertise include media law, media ethics, free press, curriculum policies and artificial intelligence in academic settings.
Kip Wotkyns
Kip Wotkyns, MBA, is a professor in the Department of Journalism and Media Production at Metropolitan State University of Denver. He teaches intro to journalism and mass media; and ethical and legal issues in journalism.
Wotkyns has 24 years of experience as a journalist. He worked for Time Inc. for 14 years, was a reporter for FORTUNE magazine and a copy editor for TIME magazine. Wotkyns was also the president of Leman Publications Inc., a magazine publishing company formerly owned by Rodale Press Inc. He joined MSU Denver in 2008 and was promoted to full professor in 2018. He is a member of Southwest Education Council for Journalism and Mass Communication and Society of Professional Journalists, as well as faculty advisor for Colorado Press Association.
His research interests include journalism, convergent journalism, social media and drone journalism. Some of Wotkyns’s more recent published works are “Drone Journalism: A Flight Plan for Curriculum Development” in the 7th Annual International Conference on Journalism & Mass Communications in 2018 and “New, Bold and Tenuous: Ethiopian Journalism Education” in Southwestern Mass Communication Journal. He has given several presentations on journalism around the country and in Singapore.
Wotkyns received his Master of Business Administration in media management and a master’s in journalism from Columbia University in 1979 and a bachelor’s in English magna cum laude from Stanford University in 1976. He is a licensed remote pilot airman.
Lisa Ortiz
Lisa Ortiz, M.A., is a professor in the Department of Journalism and Media Production at Metropolitan State University of Denver.
Prior to teaching, Ortiz was a creative director for media companies such as Athletic Motion, MediaOne and America Online. She is the chair of Faculty Senate for reappointment, tenure and promotion committee and member of the student ratings of instruction task force. Ortiz received the Golden Key Excellence in Teaching Award from MSU Denver in 2014.
Ortiz has done several presentations on her expertise, with the most recent one at the 16th Annual Hawaii International Conference on Arts and Humanities called “Scaffolding Media Literacy Skills with Personal Digital Storytelling.” Her research interests include media literacy, instructional design and technology, eLearning, front-end web design, motion design, interactive document design and visual communication.
Ortiz received her master’s in digital media studies from University of Denver in 1999 and bachelor’s in technical communication from MSU Denver in 1997.
Peggy O’Neill-Jones
Peggy O’Neill-Jones, Ed.D., began her career as a newspaper photographer and moved to broadcast, corporate, and educational media. As media transitioned to digital, online, and virtual environments, Peggy led the way with innovative interactive media productions such as Wyzt’s Playground, a 4th grade interactive math program, WebDVD Demystified, Physical Chemistry in Practice for Purdue University, and 21st Century Learning Matters, a video that describes the strategies and tools needed to create powerful 21st century learning environments.
Keeping a strong foothold in both the academic and professional realms of emerging media, Peggy developed the Interactive Media concentration in 1995 and the Social and Mobile Media concentration in 2013 at MSU Denver. Peggy presents nationally and internationally about the connection between emerging media and learning. After 26-year career at Metropolitan State University of Denver (MSU Denver), Peggy retired in 2016. She was recently awarded professor emeritus of journalism and technical communication and MSU Denver’s first-ever Extraordinary Service Award.
Peggy directs the Library of Congress Teaching with Primary Sources Western Region (TPS) program and the TPS Teachers Network at MSU Denver. TPS provides professional development that assists educators in finding, accessing, and integrating the vast reservoir of sources from the Library of Congress to deepen understanding and enrich instruction. Through Peggy’s leadership, the TPS at MSU Denver program grew from statewide outreach to a regional program that serves 14 western states.
Chris Jennings
Chris Jennings, Ed.D. is chair and professor in the Department of Journalism and Media Production at Metropolitan State University of Denver.
He has over two decades of experience in the media education field. Jennings has held positions as training analyst, instructional designer, director of digital media services, digital media producer, consultant and adjunct teaching faculty. He worked as education program specialist at the Library of Congress in Washington, DC. In addition to teaching, Jennings was assistant director for An Adventure of the American Mind Grant at MSU Denver. He is a member of several professional organizations including e-Learning Consortium of Colorado, American Society of Training and Development, International Society of Performance Improvement and Society of Technical Communications. Jennings received the Humanitarian Service Medal, Expeditionary Medal (Panama), Army Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal and the National Defense Medal for his service in the U.S. Army.
His research interests include interactive realities, virtual realities, streaming media, usability testing and human factors with technology. Jennings has authored and co-authored several books with the most recent one in 2010 titled “Educational Virtual Environment Methodologies: Second Life as an Instructional Tool” a textbook for the University of Wyoming. He has given many presentations around the country and on a few occasions in China about the use of media and technology in education.
Jennings received his Doctor of Education in instructional technology from the University of Wyoming in 2010, a master’s in multimedia technologies from Regis University in 2002 and a bachelor’s in speech communication from MSU Denver in 1996.
Kenn Bisio
Kenn Bisio, MFA, is a emeritus professor in the Department of Journalism and Media Production at Metropolitan State University of Denver. He teaches photojournalism and social documentary.
Bisio is a world-renowned photojournalist with over 40 years of professional experience. His photographs have been published in the world’s most popular and prestigious newspapers and magazines that include Sports Illustrated, National Geographic, Die Zeit, Le Monde, New York Times, Newsweek, U. S. News & World Report and Time International. Bisio received numerous awards for his photographs, which have been displayed at exhibits in America, Europe, Russia and the Far East. His photographs have also been purchased by individuals, corporate companies, museums and gallery collectors. Bisio is represented by the Geraint Smith Gallery in Taos, New Mexico.
He has been teaching as MSU Denver for 25 years, during which Bisio also held the chair positions of the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication 1994-2006 and the Department of Communication Arts and Sciences 2002-2006. Bisio was honored as Educator of the Year in 2015. His research interests include new media, convergent media, the role of newspapers and wall street investors, published manipulated photographs, Instagram vs photojournalism, historical and contemporary photographers, film photography as the foundation to digital capture and previsualization as it applies to film and digital photography.
Bisio received his Master of Fine Arts in video from Norwich University and a bachelor’s in photojournalism from San Jose State University.