Lesley Edwards-Gaither
Lesley Edwards-Gaither, Ph. D. is an assistant professor at the Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences at Metropolitan State University of Denver.
Topic: Communications
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.
Sheldon Steinhauser
John J. Rief
John Rief, Ph.D., is an assistant professor in the Department of Communication Studies at Metropolitan State University of Denver. His areas of expertise include public speaking, rhetoric, argumentation theory and practice, deliberation, competitive and civic debate in the U.S. and best practices of international and intercultural debate.
Rief joined the Communication Studies Department in August 2019 and is currently teaching Rhetorical Foundations of Communication, Arguing Constructively and Freedom of Speech. He relaunched the MSU Denver Debate program and currently serves as the debate coach. Prior to MSU Denver, Rief was an assistant professor at Duquesne University and a graduate teaching fellow and graduate teaching assistant at Pittsburgh University.
His research areas of focus are on the history of rhetoric, the history of intercollegiate academic debate and the rhetoric of health and medicine. He has published research work in POROI: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Rhetorical Analysis and Invention, as well as other journals, including Argumentation and Advocacy and Health Communication.
Rief received his doctorate in communication and two master’s in bioethics and communication from University of Pittsburgh in 2012, 2013 and 2008 respectfully and a bachelor’s in communication and philosophy from Regis University in 2005. He also attended RAND, a post-doctoral program, at University of Pittsburgh.
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.
Jeff Lewis
Laurel Lane
Laurel Lane, MA, is a lecturer in the Department of Marketing at Metropolitan State University of Denver. Her areas of expertise include digital marketing, social media marketing, selling, building new products and fiscal management. She currently teaches Introduction to Business and Business Communication.
Prior to joining MSU Denver, Lane worked at KMGH-TV Denver7 as a digital marketing strategist. She also worked for The Erie Times and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette in strategic advertising and marketing. Lane worked as a consultant and owner of her own digital, mobile and social media consulting company, Digital Span Solutions. She was awarded the 2011 Newspaper Excellence in Cyberspace from Pennsylvania’s Newspaper Association. Lane is a member of the Association of Free Community Newspapers, Girl Scouts of America, Inland Press Association and the Newspaper Association of America.
Lane’s research areas include marketing, organizational management, marketing and gender and workplace culture. She has given presentations on topics such as “Mobile for Newspapers” and “Leveraging your Digital Content to Secure your Revenue Future”.
Lane earned her master’s degree in integrated marketing communications from the University of Colorado Boulder in 2000. She earned her bachelor’s degree in English literature from the University of Houston in 1997.
Elizabeth Kleinfeld
Elizabeth Kleinfeld, Ph.D., is a professor in the Department of English and director of the Writing Center at Metropolitan State University of Denver.
She began her teaching career at Red Rocks Community College in 2001 where she worked as a writing center coordinator while also addressing writing curriculum, tutoring and composition.
Kleinfeld conducts research on academic rhetoric, composition pedagogy and theory, digital rhetoric, intellectual property, and multigenre and multimodal composition. She has co-authored two textbooks: “The Bedford Book of Genres: A Rhetoric” and “The Bedford Book of Genres: A Rhetoric and Reader.” Kleinfeld has also written numerous essays, peer-reviewed journal articles and edited handbooks. She has done many presentations at conferences and held work’shops. Kleinfeld is a member of: International Society for Humor Studies, Alliance for Computers and Writing, International Writing Centers Association, Colorado and Wyoming Writing Center Association and eLearning Consortium of Colorado.
Kleinfeld received her doctorate in English studies and master’s in English from Illinois State University and a bachelor’s in history from Bradley University.
Richard Kessel
Richard Kessel is an emeritus senior lecturer of Communication Studies. He taught at Metropolitan State University of Denver for more than 20 years.
Kessel received his doctorate in human communication studies from the University of Denver, where his dissertation was on physician-patient decision-making. He developed the physician communication skills assessment and feedback program for the Center for Personalized Education for Physicians — where he became the senior communication consultant — which was subsequently licensed to the National Board of Medical Examiners and is now part of the United States Medical Licensing Examination that all medical students must pass before becoming licensed to practice.
Prior to becoming a full-time faculty member at MSU Denver, Kessel was an associate clinical professor in the Internal Medicine Department at the University of Colorado’s School of Medicine, where he taught clinical interviewing skills. He was instrumental in implementing the School of Medicine’s teaching and assessment programs utilizing simulated patients and was recognized for excellence by the Foundations of Doctoring program. Kessel also previously worked as an enrolled agent at the University of Denver’s Law School, where he helped establish its new student orientation program on financial planning (as it related to budgeting and student loans).
Kessel has spoken at academic and professional development conferences on topics ranging from the effective use of PowerPoint, the science of teaching and learning, clinical communication skills and financial planning.
He has been a nationally-recognized expert in physician assessment, education and behavior modification.
Brenden Kendall
Brendan Kendall, Ph.D., is a professor and associate chair in the Department of Communication Studies at Metropolitan State University of Denver. His areas of expertise are in organizational communication, focusing on workplace and professional communication.
Kendall began teaching at MSU Denver in 2015 where he is also serving as co-chairperson and team lead for the President’s Transition Sustainability Team and the President’s Advisory council of Academic Effectiveness and Student Success. In addition to MSU Denver, he consults for Assemble Consulting, LLC and Museo de las Americas of Denver. Kendall also provides leadership and presentation coaching as a freelance consultant.
His research is currently focused on exploring ethics in organization communication, communicating ‘employability’ and strategic image management in the craft brewing industry. Kendall has co-authored the book “Just a Job? Communication, Ethics, and Professional Life” and has been published in academic journals including Environmental Communication: A Journal of Nature and Culture and The Critical Journal of Organization, Theory, and Society. He has also participated on panels for organizations including the National Communication Association, the Association for Practical and Professional Ethics.
Kendall received his doctorate and master’s in communication from University of Utah in 2011 and 2005, respectively, and a bachelor’s in communication studies from University of Montana in 2003.