Alfredo Sanchez

Alfredo Sanchez, M.S., is an associate professor in the Journalism and Media Production Department at Metropolitan State University of Denver.

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.

Norman Provizer

Retired political science professor Norman Provizer taught American Constitutional Law, Leadership Studies, Leadership & Social Change and American National Government for more than three decades.

He has taught at Metropolitan State University of Denver since 1989.

Provizer has recently written chapters in: The Companion to Franklin D. Roosevelt, Fictional Leaders, Lincoln’s Enduring Legacy, and Leadership Studies: The Dialogue of Disciplines. Additionally, he has co-edited three books on the United States Supreme Court and has published articles in numerous academic journals including White House Studies and The Leadership Quarterly.

Provizer has served as an election analyst for television stations in Denver and Shreveport, La. His op-ed pieces have appeared in The New York Times as well as other newspapers. Under his direction, the Meir Center developed a leadership program for the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce in Denver.

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.

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.

Samuel Jay

Samuel Jay, Ph.D., is a professor of Communication Studies and interim executive director of Online Learning at Metropolitan State University of Denver.

He joined MSU Denver in 2011 as an adjunct professor and went full-time in 2014. Jay opened his own consulting company in 2015 called Jay Communication Solutions helping individuals and small businesses market themselves. He has developed and implemented content marketing campaigns, handled social media accounts of NCAA Division I sports teams and coached and managed projects for varied clients. Jay also produces and co-hosts a weekly sports podcast and radio show, called Sports Nerds, where he examines how sports influence our perception of things like race, class, gender and power. He also co-hosts a weekly podcast, called Unfiltered, where leaders in the craft beverage industry are featured, providing a behind-the-scenes look at what they do.

His research focus areas include how digital communication technologies and their users generate and circulate emotional energy and how that energy adds rhetoric effectiveness to disparate discourses, including politics, sports, and economics.

Jay received his doctorate in communication studies with a focus on rhetoric and a minor in emergent digital practices from University of Denver in 2014, a master’s in radio-television-film from University of North Texas in 2009 and a bachelor’s in cinema and comparative literature from University of Iowa in 2006.

William Huddy

William Huddy, Ph.D., is a lecturer in the Department of Communications at Metropolitan State University of Denver where he teaches Communication Research and Theory Building, Campus Communication, Communication and Politics and Public Speaking.

Prior to teaching, Huddy worked in the field of radio and television for 20 year and has experience working in the areas of reporting, anchoring, editing, photojournalism, advertising and news directing. His primary research interests include media and celebrities, dependence on mobile phone technology, student engagement in public speaking, dynamic changes in political campaigning (and the importance of internet campaigning with less reliance on television) and new methods in communication as a means of activism and social justice.

Huddy received his Ph.D. in communication studies from the University of Denver in 2012, a master’s in instructional communication from the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs in 2003 and a bachelor’s in mass communication and international relations from California State University in 1975.

Jeremy Castle

Jeremy Castle, Ph.D., is an associate professor in the Department of Political Science at Metropolitan State University of Denver.

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.

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