II. Standard 5: Faculty

Make the following documents available in a separate digital file:

• curriculum vitae of each full-time faculty member (Full-time faculty refers to those defined as such by the unit.)
• résumés of adjunct or part-time faculty, and of graduate students serving as teachers of record, teaching during the fall 2023 semester

Print copy in the workroom only:

• records on faculty promotion and tenure

Executive summary:

The college is dedicated to fostering a diverse and accomplished faculty, committed to producing exceptional research and creative work. Comprehensive guidelines and robust support systems are in place to encourage faculty growth and ensure excellence.

Our faculty composition is carefully balanced, encompassing diverse perspectives and a blend of academic and professional experiences. This deliberate approach cultivates inquisitive and imaginative minds within the media and communication professions. The faculty comprises both full-time and part-time members, with a strong emphasis on industry expertise and achievements.

To select full-time faculty, the college follows a strategic hiring plan. This process involves developing position proposals, appointing search committees and reviewing and approving job advertisements. The process incorporates preliminary and on-campus interviews and collecting feedback from stakeholders. Based on this thorough evaluation, a hiring recommendation is presented to the dean for consideration and offer negotiation.

Additionally, the college employs part-time faculty, through a comprehensive assessment of course offerings. Current and former adjunct faculty are given priority, and potential candidates are actively sought from alumni and professional networks. Informational interviews and offers are issued to finalize the selection.

Clear guidelines for promotion and tenure have been established, with faculty input and recent revision in 2021-2022. Tenure-track faculty have a specific timeline for seeking promotion to associate professor with tenure. The decision-making process considers faculty evaluations, external reviews and recommendations from various evaluative groups. Salary increases are merit-based, and promotions typically come with corresponding raises.

The college is committed to facilitating professional development in teaching. It provides numerous opportunities, including pedagogical workshops organized by the Center for Transformative Teaching. Funding support for grants and awards related to teaching is also available. Faculty members can access monthly faculty development workshops, participate in the Teaching Observation Program for peer evaluations and utilize resources from the university's National Center for Faculty Development & Diversity.

Faculty workloads are governed by established guidelines adopted in 2016. These guidelines specify a 3-4 teaching load for professors of practice, a 2-2 teaching load for pre-tenure faculty, and a 3-2 teaching load for tenured faculty.

All faculty members in the college undergo annual reviews of their duties by the dean and associate dean for research and faculty affairs. Student evaluations play a role in these reviews, providing qualitative feedback for self-reflection. Tenure-track faculty receive additional annual reviews by tenured faculty during their probationary period. Part-time faculty receive an annual evaluation from the associate deans focused on teaching, including feedback from course coordinators and student evaluations.

Full-time faculty also undergo a mid-term review. They submit a dossier and receive a comprehensive review letter highlighting their contributions, strengths, areas of concern and input from tenured faculty following their third year in rank at the assistant and associate levels.

The university's faculty development leave policy allows full-time faculty employed for at least six years to apply for a Faculty Development Fellowship. This fellowship provides either full pay for half of the appointment period or 50% pay for the entire appointment period. In November 2022, CoJMC revised its policy, to clarify procedures for how sabbaticals or leaves of absence for research and scholarly activities can be awarded.

The college strongly supports faculty scholarship, research, and creative activities through various means. These include technology support, start-up funds for incoming faculty, a seed grant program, travel grants, endowed professorships, a pre-tenure mentoring program and research incentives. These initiatives provide resources and opportunities for faculty members to advance their research and teaching, engage in professional development and gain recognition for their accomplishments.

Include a brief description of faculty balance in terms of degrees, professional experience, gender, race and rank.

The college is committed to maintaining a balanced faculty that provides diverse perspectives and brings academic and professional experience that advances our mission to nurture curious and creative minds to thrive in the ever-changing media and communication professions.

Rank

In 2022-2023, the college employed 90 individuals to teach classes across our curriculum. Thirty-seven full-time faculty across three tenure-track ranks (assistant, associate and full professors) and four non-tenure-track ranks (lecturer, assistant, associate and full professors of practice.)

The college had 43 part-time faculty including 41 adjuncts (called Lecturer/ts at UNL) and two visiting professors. Additionally, the college had 10 graduate assistants who served as instructors of record.

Gender

Of the 80 individuals in full or part-time faculty positions, 41 (51%) were female, while 39 (49%) were male. The full-time faculty are evenly split in terms of gender, with 18 women and 19 men. The even split remains when considering tenure and non-tenure line faculty. Of the 17 non-tenure track faculty, eight were female, and nine were male. Of the 20 tenure-track faculty, 10 were female, and 10 were male. The part-time faculty skew slightly female with 23 (53%) female and 20 (47%) male. Graduate assistants serving as instructors of record were predominantly female (9), while only one was male.

Race

The 2022-2023 faculty were 86% white (69), 6.25% black or African American (5), 2.75% Asian (3), 2.5% multiracial (2) and 1.25% Hispanic or Latino (1). The full-time faculty are more diverse than the overall faculty population at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, with 81% (30) white, 8.11% (3) black or African American, 5.4% (2) Asian, 2.7% (1) multiracial and 2.7% (1) Hispanic or Latino.

The part-time faculty were predominantly white at 90.7% (3), with black or African American at 4.65% (2), Asian at 2.33% (1) and multiracial at 2.33% (1). Graduate assistants were the most diverse group at 70% (7) white, and 10% or one each of Asian, black or African American and multiracial.

As noted in Standard 4, the college has taken several steps to increase the diversity of faculty hires. These efforts resulted in a diverse group of five new hires in 2022-23. (There were six hires total, including one internal candidate). As a result of these improvements, the college expects to see a more diverse full-time faculty for 2023-2024. We expect that our full-time faculty will be 76% (28) white, 10.8% (4) Asian, 10.8% (4) black or African American and 2.7% (1) multiracial.

Professional Experience

The college has a strong tradition of hiring faculty with significant professional experience. To strengthen the college’s research and creative activity profile, the college has hired more faculty with advanced degrees in the past few years. However, we remain committed to balancing professional and academic experience across our faculty. Our full-time faculty have a combined 528 years of professional experience.

Our full-time faculty have 14 years of professional experience on average. The average is slightly higher for non-tenure track faculty at 16 years and slightly lower for tenure track faculty at 13 years.

In addition to deep professional experience, our faculty have proven accomplishments in the industry. Two faculty are Pulitzer Prize winners and four current or former faculty were inducted in their industry’s Nebraska Hall of Fame in 2022.

Our part-time faculty also have considerable professional experience. Our 2022-2023 part-time faculty had an average of 17 years and a combined total of 739 years of professional experience.

Almost three-quarters (72%) of our part-time faculty are currently working in a full-time professional position, allowing them to bring the latest trends in the industry into our classroom experience. Professional positions held by 2022-2023 part-time faculty include:

• Sports Reporter, WKBW News 7
• Manager of Brand Design, Hudl
• Creative Director, redthread
• Media Research Analyst, Nebraska Public Media
• Executive Creative Director, Agent
• Team Editor, Detroit Free Press
• Video Production Supervisor, Ameritas
• Director of Public Relations, Nebraska Wesleyan University
• Data Analytics Manger, Bloomberg Industry Group
• Managing Editor, San Joaquin Magazine
• Writer, Audacy, Inc.
• Founder, Sparrow Strategy

For a complete list of professional positions, please click here.

Valerie Jones earns her Ph.D. from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in December 2019.

Degrees

Our faculty have a strong mix of bachelor’s, master’s and doctorates from a variety of prestigious colleges and universities. Of our full-time faculty, 46% (17) hold Ph.D.s, while 43% (16) hold master’s degrees and 1% (4) hold bachelor’s degrees. Degrees are from peer institutions, including Michigan State University, University of Wisconsin-Madison, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and the University of Missouri.

A smaller proportion of our part-time faculty hold advanced degrees, with 53% (23) holding bachelor's degrees, 37% (16) holding master’s degrees and 9% (4) holding Ph.Ds. The college relies heavily on its alumni and local industry contacts to identify part-time faculty members. As a result, 67% of part-time faculty degrees were awarded by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Please respond to each of the following instructions:

1. Describe how the unit selects full-time and part-time faculty and instructional staff.

Full-time Faculty

As noted in Standard 7, the college selection of full-time faculty begins with developing and approving a strategic hiring plan. The plan evaluates college needs and priorities, proposes faculty positions to meet those needs and provides a justification for the qualifications and salary requirements for the position. The 2022-2023 strategic hiring plan is available here.

Once the plan is approved, the dean appoints a search committee for each open position. As noted in Standard 4, at least one woman and a person of color serve on each committee as required by university policy. To ensure broad input and feedback during the search process, the committees are structured to include various faculty ranks, both tenure-earning and non-tenure-earning faculty and a staff member. The 2022-2023 search committees included:

The UNL Office of Institutional Equity and Compliance reviews and approves the committee to ensure all committee members are current on required search process training. Beginning in 2022, diversity ambassadors were added to faculty search committees. Diversity ambassadors are full members of the committee. See Standard 4 for additional details on diversity ambassadors.

The associate dean for research and faculty affairs then prepares a job advertisement for each position and requests feedback from search committee members. The Office of Institutional Equity and Compliance must review and approve each advertisement to ensure it meets all legal, regulatory and policy requirements. The 2022-2023 job advertisements were:

• Associate/Full Professor of Depth Reporting
• Assistant/Associate/Full Professor of Practice in Depth Reporting
• Assistant Professor in Advertising and Public Relations or Sports Media and Communication
• Assistant Professor of Practice in Advertising and Public Relations or Sports Media and Communication
• Assistant Professor of Media Law
• Assistant Professor of Practice in Media Production

The college then proceeds to recruit applicants through advertisements, social media posts, emails to interest groups and institutions of higher education and personal outreach. For additional details on faculty recruitment, please see Standard 4.

Before application reviews begin, the college’s director of business and operations meets with search committee members to review the search process, the roles and responsibilities of the search committee and resources available to support the search on campus. The standard presentation for this meeting is available here.

Search committee members then review all applicants for the position and complete an “applicant log” indicating which applicants meet the minimum and preferred qualifications for the position. An example applicant log is available here. The committee then meets to discuss the candidates and reach a consensus on which candidates will be included in the shortlist for preliminary interviews. The Office of Institutional Equity and Compliance then reviews and approves the initial shortlist.

Once approved, preliminary interviews are conducted. Search committees agree on a standard set of questions for all candidates during preliminary interviews. Following the preliminary interviews, the committee meets again to determine which candidates to invite for on-campus interviews. The Office of Institutional Equity and Compliance also reviews and approves the final shortlist. On-campus interviews are structured to provide faculty with opportunities to demonstrate their skills and qualifications – through teaching and/or research presentations, as appropriate – and to interact broadly with the college community. An example interview schedule is available here. Following each interview, feedback is solicited from all interview participants and the college faculty and staff. An example feedback form is available here.

The feedback is collected and provided to the search committee to consider during their final meeting, where they develop a hiring recommendation for the dean. Once the recommendation is finalized, the dean will proceed with the offer and negotiation for the position. The dean has the discretion to structure the offer within the parameters approved in the strategic hiring plan. If an offer exceeds the approved parameters, the dean must obtain approval from the Executive Vice Chancellor to address any equity concerns with the offer.

Part-time Faculty

At UNL, part-time faculty are known as lecturer/t (temporary). Part-time faculty are hired for one semester at a time and paid a flat rate based on the number of credit hours taught. The college policy on minimum qualifications and compensation for lecturer/ts is available here.

Hiring part-time faculty starts with assessing the course offerings for the term. Full-time faculty are assigned to teach courses first. As noted in Standard 4, the associate deans work together with full-time faculty to create teaching schedules that meet individual faculty needs. Once full-time faculty are assigned, the associate dean for academic programs reviews lecturer/ts who are currently teaching or have taught in our program in the past to determine if their expertise aligns with needed course coverage. Current and former lecturers/ts are prioritized in hiring to reduce the burden on the faculty member and the student learning experience when new faculty must prep for new courses and learn university systems. The associate deans also review lecturer/ts annually, so information about their teaching ability is readily available. If an appropriate faculty member is identified, they are approached by the associate dean about their interest in teaching the course.

If a potential faculty member with the requisite expertise isn’t identified or isn’t available, the associate dean will then consult a running list of potential faculty members.

The college relies heavily on its alumni and professional networks to identify potential future part-time faculty. Individuals often express their interest in teaching to either existing full-time faculty or college leadership during conferences, programs or events. The names of individuals who express interest are forwarded to the associate dean for academic programs, who reaches out and schedules an initial informational interview. The informational interview determines the individual’s interest, their areas of expertise and past teaching experience (if any). If their interest and experience align with potential college needs, the associate dean will add them to a running list of potential faculty.

If a potential candidate is not identified, the associate for academic programs will contact full-time faculty and industry partners to identify qualified individuals and will then reach out to suggested individuals to schedule an informational interview.

Once a qualified candidate for the class is identified, the associate dean of academic programs will reach out to the candidate to determine their interest in teaching the course(s). After an interview, the associate dean of academic programs will determine if the candidate has the necessary qualifications and availability to teach the class.

Once the individual agrees to teach a course(s), their information, along with the course information, is forwarded to the associate dean for research and faculty affairs for review and approval. Once approved, a letter of offer is issued to the individual.

2. Describe the university and unit expectations of faculty members in teaching; research; creative and professional activity; and service. Describe the process for the award of tenure, promotion, reappointment and salary. (Provide digital access to relevant faculty handbook sections and any supplementary promotion and tenure criteria and procedures adopted by the unit. Please provide specific page numbers.)

The College’s promotion and tenure guidelines offer clear expectations and guidelines for faculty members’ teaching, research/creative activity and service. These guidelines were extensively revised during the 2021-22 academic year and approved by the faculty in March 2022. These guidelines include information for both tenure-earning (p. 1), promotion from associate to full professor with tenure (p. 7) and guidelines for promotion for professors of practice, both to associate (p. 10) and to full (p. 13). The full CoJMC policies and procedures document is available here (P&T starts on p. 17). Full-time lecturer faculty within the college are considered temporary positions; no mechanism exists for promotion for those faculty.

Tenure-track faculty hired as assistant professors are probationary faculty who must seek promotion to associate professor with tenure; they have a mandatory date by which they must submit their applications for promotion to associate professor with tenure, typically within six-years of hire. Assistant professors of practice may seek promotion to associate after six years, although it is not mandatory. During their third year of employment, tenure-track faculty are required to undergo a mid-term evaluation process; other faculty (tenured or non-tenured) are encouraged to undergo a mid-term evaluation if they plan to seek promotion within the next three years.

For those seeking promotion and/or tenure, faculty are required to make the request for promotion to the associate dean for research and faculty affairs typically in the spring before they seek the promotion. The candidates then make suggestions of appropriate external reviewers to the associate dean for research and faculty affairs. The associate dean for research and faculty affairs takes those suggestions into account and then selects faculty at Big Ten universities, or peer or aspirational institutions who hold the rank of associate professor or higher to serve as external reviewers to evaluate the research contributions of the candidate. The candidate must approve the final list of names, as does the tenured faculty.

Once approved, the associate dean for research and faculty affairs asks individuals if they are willing to serve as external reviewers. The faculty member does not know which external reviewers are selected. The college’s tenured faculty evaluates the dossier and the external letters and makes a recommendation on tenure. For promotion, all faculty in the college at the rank above the faculty member seeking promotion make a recommendation to the dean. Thus, it could be two separate evaluative groups—one for tenure and a separate one for promotion.

The dean reviews all prior stages and makes an independent evaluation and recommendation. In the final steps, the executive vice chancellor then evaluates all materials and makes a recommendation. Tenure and promotion are conferred by the University’s Board of Regents.

Salary increases are typically merit-based and not guaranteed. Annual evaluations are used to determine the percentage of raise increase if money is available that fiscal year for raises. Typically, faculty who are promoted are provided raises before other merit raises are determined by the dean.

Midterm reviews follow the same evaluative process as tenure/promotion reviews in the college, without the external review stage. The dean’s review is the final step in that process.

3. Describe professional development programs, workshops in teaching, or other methods used to stimulate and encourage effective teaching.

There are several opportunities at the university or college level for professional development in teaching. The college promotes pedagogical workshops from the University’s Center for Transformative Teaching, which provides training for and access to a variety of instructional resources. This was particularly in demand during the shift to remote learning in Fall 2020, and most faculty have continued to use these resources as we have shifted away from pandemic teaching needs to our new normal of technology-supported instruction. The Center for Transformative Teaching has several programs, including an annual Summer Institute for Online Teaching, often free of charge to UNL faculty and graduate assistants.

Multiple faculty have applied for and been awarded teaching-related grants and awards with the support of the college (and often matching funds). In the spring of 2023, Madeline Wiseman was awarded a $75,000 Open Educational Resources Seed Grant to fund pedagogical innovations and course redesigns for our technical communication writing program, which is required for many engineering and business students. Several faculty have received $1,000 grants for specific teaching-related projects, including Valerie Jones, Matt Waite, Madeline Wiseman, Katie Krcmarik and Jessica Walsh. Professors Bryan Wang, Valerie Jones, Frauke Hachtmann, Laurie Lee and Barney McCoy were all named Nebraska Governance and Technology faculty fellows in 2022, focusing on connections between law and technology in the classroom and industry.

As discussed in #10 below, all faculty—including professors of practice—can apply for and be awarded travel funds to attend professional development conferences. Several faculty have used these funds to attend industry- and teaching-related workshops, such as the National Institute of Computer Assisted Reporting and Investigative Reporters and Editors, Poynter’s Diversity Across the Curriculum, Solutions Journalism Network's Educator Academy, National Association of Television Program Executives and Harvard Business Publishing Education.

Since 2020, the college has offered monthly faculty development workshops—formalized as Faculty Innovation and Exploration beginning in 2022—which include monthly events on teaching-, research- or diversity-related workshops. The events draw between 10 and 20 faculty each month, with as many as 25 in fall 2022. Examples of the events were called “Crucial Conversations about Diversity” and “The Grant Writing Process.” Speakers are invited from both around the university and from within the college, including representatives from academic misconduct and undergraduate mentoring programs. Further, the college has brief presentations each month at faculty meetings from UNL Instructional Designer Amy Ort, who highlights some key teaching-related tools/issues.

The college has developed a Teaching Observation Program (TOP) which requires all instructors and assistant professors to have annual peer evaluations of their teaching by seasoned college faculty to provide feedback and guidance. The program includes a syllabus review, an observation, a post-review meeting and written feedback. The guidelines also suggest three- and five-year reviews for associate and full professors, respectively.

Finally, UNL has myriad teaching-related workshops available on campus, and faculty are encouraged to attend when possible. The university is a member of the National Center for Faculty Development & Diversity, and each term CoJMC supports a faculty member to its Faculty Success Program for roughly $4,500. The college has sponsored five faculty since 2020, including Bryan Wang, Adam Wagler, Jessica Fargen-Walsh, Jason Stamm and Brian Petrotta.

4. Describe the normal workload for a full-time faculty member. Explain how workloads are determined. If some workloads are lighter or heavier than normal, explain how these variations are determined.

Across the college, the standard teaching load for professors of practice is three courses in one term and four courses in one term per academic year, typically during fall and spring terms (80% Full Time Equivalency), and they are expected to offer 20% service to the college, university and/or industry. Some faculty may have course reductions depending on workloads (e.g., Experience Lab faculty liaisons, Nebraska High School Press Association Director, course coordinators for multi-section classes, etc.). Full-time faculty who teach a class with more than 120 students are typically given credit for two courses within that term. The college employs workload guidelines that were approved by the CoJMC executive committee in November 2016.

Tenure-track (TT) faculty typically have 40% teaching (2/2 courses), 50% research, and 10% service loads per semester. Tenure-track faculty are also awarded one course release during the first three years of employment. Upon granting of tenure, faculty typically have 60% teaching (2/3 courses), 30% research and 10% service loads per academic year. Faculty work with the associate dean of academic programs to determine which terms have the higher teaching loads, based on college staffing needs and individual preferences. When comparing our college to other Big Ten journalism/mass communication programs, our teaching load is higher than others. Most tenured faculty in research-based journalism programs have a 2-2 teaching load per academic year, when faculty are actively producing scholarly research or creative activity.

The college has three administrative roles. The dean has a 100% administrative appointment, while two associate deans have a workload of 60% administration; 25% (1 course per semester) teaching and 10% research.

5. Demonstrate that full-time tenured, tenure-track and fixed-term faculty have taught the majority of core and required courses for the three years before the site visit. If full-time faculty have not taught and are not teaching the majority of core and required courses, the unit should explain how its staffing plan accomplishes the goal of reserving the primary responsibility for teaching to the full-time faculty.

Percentage of core and required courses taught by full-time faculty:

2022-23 school year: 59.6%

2021-22 school year: 68.2%

2020-21 school year: 64.9%

6. Describe the unit’s processes and criteria for evaluating the performance of full-time and part-time faculty and instructional staff, including teaching evaluations and faculty evaluations. Use a digital format to provide access to any course evaluation forms, peer review forms or other documents used in evaluations.

As part of the college and university requirements (starts on p. 11), all faculty are required to be reviewed annually on their apportioned duties by the dean and associate dean of research and faculty affairs. The annual review policy calls for tenure-track faculty to be additionally reviewed by all tenured faculty each year during their probationary period, which is also part of their overall review.

According to CoJMC policy/procedures (p. 11-17), full- and part-time faculty are reviewed each calendar year. In 3.1.2.3, the procedures note that the college follows the university in its holistic view of student evaluations, in that, “Student responses represent information that is fundamentally qualitative and should not be used for quantitative analysis. Any quantitative information gathered should be used for peer review and self-reflection.” Here is a sample copy of course evaluations. Qualitative comments are reviewed for themes and any concerns regarding the classroom environment.

Each January, full-time faculty are asked to update their Digital Measures information, along with their annual narrative and curriculum vitae. The dean and associate dean for research and faculty affairs review the material provided, along with course evaluations and TOP materials, if available, and meet with all faculty. The administrators craft and co-sign a review letter that summarizes the faculty member’s contributions, highlighting strengths/accolades and denoting any areas of concern or improvement needed. For tenure-track faculty, the college tenured faculty also meet privately and provide input on the faculty member’s progress toward tenure. That information is incorporated into the annual review letter given to the faculty member. Faculty are permitted to respond to any inaccuracies and/or offer rebuttals, within 14 days of receipt of the review. A signature by the faculty member indicates only that they have seen the review.

For part-time faculty (lecturer/ts in 4.1.5.5), CoJMC policies and procedures call for an annual evaluation by the associate dean for research and faculty affairs. The associate dean requests feedback from course coordinators (as needed) and reviews student evaluations for adjuncts. After consulting with the associate dean for academic programs, the associate dean for research and faculty affairs writes a short review letter, focusing on teaching, signed by both associate deans and provided to the lecturer/t. Faculty are permitted to respond to any inaccuracies and or rebuttals, within 14 days of receipt of the review. A signature by the faculty member indicates only that they have seen the review.

7. For the grid that follows: Define the group of faculty whose work is included in this section and state time restrictions used to incorporate activities of faculty who were not employed by the unit during the review period (for example, new faculty and retired faculty).

Using the grid below, provide counts of the unit’s overall productivity in scholarship during the review period by activity; first the totals for the unit as a whole and then for the individuals who produced these totals, broken down by academic rank. The chart should provide a snapshot of scholarship activity within the unit during the review period. Therefore, the grid should capture relevant activity by all full-time faculty only while at the accredited unit. Provide the total number of individuals in each rank in place of the XX. Adapt the grid to best reflect institutional mission and unit policies and provide a brief narrative.

*Co-authored work should be counted as a single publication in the unit totals. However, if, for example, two members of the faculty are co-authors on the same journal article, it would be reported as a publication for both authors. **Includes all full-time faculty who do not hold listed ranks, such as instructors and others on term appointments. Many faculty in this category may hold teaching appointments without significant scholarship, research or creative requirements.

Frauke Hachtmann (left) poses with her book, "Crisis Response Advertising: Insights and Implications from COVID-19," during the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communications Annual Conference in Washington, D.C., in August 2023.

UNL joined the ranks of the Big Ten Conference just before our last re-accreditation cycle. CoJMC traditionally had faculty who were former media professionals serving as faculty and administrators; thus, much of the scholarship and creative activity was industry focused. With the shift toward a research-focused university, mass communication scholarship has increased with new hires and faculty, which is demonstrated in the table above. For example, in our 2016 self-study, we noted 40 peer-reviewed journal articles, compared with 66 in the present table. Similarly, refereed conference presentations increased from 70 in 2016 to 122. Non-refereed publications decreased from 53 to 29 in this review cycle.

The dean has prioritized research and creative scholarship at CoJMC and her tenure-track hires have demonstrated that focus by developing strong research programs. Junior faculty, with a 2-2 teaching load, produced the majority of refereed journal articles in the college, along with maintaining a presence in creative activity with the college. Both the dean and associate dean of research and faculty affairs are prolific scholars who have maintained a research presence within their administrative roles.

Finally, while combined in the table above, our professors of practice have also produced scholarship and creative activity, including book chapters and peer-reviewed journal articles.

8. List in a separate digital file the scholarly, research, creative and professional activities of each member of the full-time faculty during the review period. Limit to 10 per faculty member through the review period. The unit has the option of providing a complete list in an additional separate digital file. (Full-time faculty refers to those defined as such by the unit.) If including faculty who have since left the unit, please note the departure. Professional service activities should be reported in Standard 8.

9. Describe the institution’s policy regarding sabbaticals, leaves of absence with or without pay, etc. List faculty who have taken sabbaticals or leaves during the review period. Give one-sentence descriptions detailing the academic achievements of each sabbatical.

The university’s policy for faculty development leave allows for any faculty who have been employed full-time for at least six years. FDLs can be awarded to faculty who are tenured, tenure-track or professors of practice. A Faculty Development Fellowship provides full pay for one-half of the normal annual appointment period, or 50% of regular pay for all of the normal annual appointment period.

In November 2022, CoJMC revised its faculty development leave policy, providing clear guidance about the procedure for applying within the college. The specific criteria employed are: the quality of proposal, the outcome of any previous leaves (if applicable) and the applicant’s research and/or instructional productivity during the most recent five-year period. The decision for any CoJMC faculty leave is made by the dean in consultation with the Executive Committee.

During the review period, the following faculty were awarded sabbaticals:

• Fall 2023: Barney McCoy: McCoy is producing and directing a documentary on a Nebraska native who developed journalistic content during World War II.
• Fall 2022: Frauke Hachtmann: Hachtmann wrote a book titled: Crisis Response Advertising: Insights and Implications from COVID-19 (Routledge). She also had two manuscripts accepted for presentations at the 2023 International Association for Communication and Sport Summit, Barcelona, Spain, and 2023 American Academy of Advertising Conference, Denver, Colorado.
• Spring 2022: Changmin Yan: Yan collected data on a D&I training program and presented the research in Fall 2022 at a regional conference. He is preparing a manuscript based on the study.
• Spring 2021 (postponed from Fall 2020 due to COVID-19 restrictions): Ming (Bryan) Wang: Wang conducted in-depth interviews with oncologists and cancer patients to probe their information-seeking behavior on social media and their attitudes toward adopting AI-driven communication technologies in cancer communication. He has one manuscript under review and one publication from that project.

Other leaves of absence:

Spring 2023: Valerie Jones. Jones received a Fulbright award to Australia. She worked with the Social Innovation Research Institute at Swinburne University of Technology, exploring how emergent technologies, specifically voice assistants, activate social connection and influence loneliness among aging adults.

10. Describe travel funding, grant support, or other methods or programs the unit uses to encourage scholarship, research, and creative and professional activity. List faculty who have taken advantage of those programs during the review period.

The college uses a combination of technology support, internal grant programs, competitive professorship opportunities, mentoring and incentives to encourage scholarship, research and creative and professional activity.

Technology

To ensure that every faculty has the baseline technology needed for research, creative and professional activity, each faculty member is provided with a computer – a choice between PC and Mac - and Microsoft Office, the Adobe Creative Suite and Qualtrics Survey software. The college maintains a four-year replacement cycle for all computers ensuring that faculty have up-to-date machines. The college centrally funds the computers, so faculty do not have to utilize other sources of support to meet this need.

Start-up Funds

Incoming faculty with a research/creative activity apportionment are provided with start-up funds as part of their hiring package. Typically, start-up awards are $15,000 but can vary based on tenure credit or other considerations. In general, faculty have three years to utilize the funding, which can be spent on travel, software or other expenses that advance their research/creative activity or professional development. Faculty who have received start-up funds include:

• Cory Armstrong, professor, hired 2022
• Kelli Boling, assistant professor, hired 2021
• Ciera Kirkpatrick, assistant professor, hired 2021
• Brian Petrotta, assistant professor, hired 2021
• Jason Stamm, assistant professor, hired 2021
• Chris Graves, assistant professor, hired 2020
• Jessica Walsh, assistant professor, hired 2020
• John Shrader, assistant professor, hired 2017

Seed Grant Program

The college also administers an internal seed grant program to support faculty research and creative activity. The program is available to all full-time faculty in the college and provides grants of up to $5,000. Applications are taken on a rolling basis and the college’s executive committee determines awards. Faculty who have received seed grants during the review period include:

Ciera Kirkpatrick presents at the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communications Annual Conference in Washington, D.C., in August 2023.

Travel Grant Program

To support faculty travel, the college has an endowed fund, the Seacrest Travel Fund. Full-time faculty can apply for Seacrest Travel funds to support their travel to conferences or meetings or to support their professional development. Awards of up to $1,000 domestically and $1,500 internationally are available to faculty for travel that supports their research, creative activity or professional development.

Faculty can receive an increased award of $1,500 domestically and $2,000 internationally if their travel includes a paper or panel presentation, keynote address or committee chairmanship. Faculty who have received Seacrest Travel grants during the review period include:

Professorships

The college has seven endowed professorships. When not used in recruiting and hiring, professorships are awarded competitively to provide enhanced support to productive faculty to support their research and creative activity. The professorships are:

William H. Kearns Chair in Journalism

For a five-year term, the William H. Kearns Chair in Journalism provides a senior, tenured faculty member with a $5,000 salary stipend, $5,000 annually in research support and a graduate assistant for 10 hours per week. The Kearns Chair was held by Professor John Bender until his retirement in May 2022. The current Kearns Chair is Professor Frauke Hachtmann.

Fred A. & Gladys Seaton Professorship

For a three-year term, the Fred A. & Gladys Seaton Professorship provides a full-time faculty member with a $5,000 salary stipend and $5,000 annually in research support. The current Seaton Professors are Associate Professors Valerie Jones and Dane Kiambi.

Lawrence L. & Ruth E. Pike Professorship

For a five-year term, the Lawrence L. & Ruth E. Pike Professorship provides a faculty member with accomplishments in teaching and promise in journalism with a $10,000 salary stipend and $10,000 annually in research support. The Pike Professorship was held by Professor Joseph Starita until his retirement in May 2021. The current Pike Professor is Professor Cory Armstrong.

Jerry and Karla Huse Professorship

For a three-year term, the Jerry and Karla Huse Professorship provides a faculty member with teaching and research abilities and academic promise with a $7,000 salary stipend and $5,000 annually in research support. The Huse Professorship was held by Professor Joseph Weber until his retirement in May 2023. The Jerry and Karla Huse Professor will be awarded to Michael Park (beginning in January 2024).

Buffett-Mangelsen-Sartore Chair in Photojournalism

For a three-year term, the Buffett-Mangelsen-Sartore Chair in Photojournalism provides a full-time faculty member with a $5,000 salary stipend and $60,000 annually to support the Global Eyewitness program. The Buffett-Mangelsen-Sartore Chair was held by Associate Professor Bruce Thorson until his retirement in May 2022. The current Buffett-Mangelsen-Sartore Chair in Photojournalism is Assistant Professor of Practice Shoun Hill.

Gilbert M. and Martha H. Hitchcock Professorship

For a five-year term, the Gilbert M. and Martha H. Hitchcock Professorship provides a faculty member with journalistic credentials, teaching and research ability and academic promise with a $10,000 salary stipend. The current Hitchcock Professor is Professor Barney McCoy.

Deepe Family Endowed Chair

For a five-year term, the Deepe Family Endowed Chair provides a full-time faculty member with a $10,000 salary stipend and $5,000 annually in research support. Beginning in August 2023, the Deepe Family Endowed Chairs will be Linda White, assistant professor, and Chris Graves, assistant professor of practice. The Deepe Family Endowed Chair was established in 2022. White and Graves will be the initial recipients.

When professorships are awarded competitively, faculty can be nominated or self-nominate to receive a professorship by submitting a cover letter with a narrative highlighting their accomplishments, a current CV and a detailed proposal outlining what the candidate will accomplish and how they will use the funds and/or other support.

Applications are reviewed by a committee of other college professorship holders and at least two professorship holders from other University of Nebraska-Lincoln colleges.

Professorships are awarded for a stated term (typically three or five years) and can be renewed based on a subsequent application and committee selection.

Pre-tenure Mentoring Program

In 2021-2022, the University launched an external mentoring program that provided up to $2,000 in funding to pre-tenure faculty members to connect and engage with an external mentor. The funds could be used to support the mentor’s travel to UNL or to support the faculty members’ travel to a conference or other institution to engage with their mentor. The following faculty have participated in the pre-tenure mentoring program:

• Kelli Boling, assistant professor
• Ciera Kirkpatrick, assistant professor
• Brian Petrotta, assistant professor
• Jason Stamm, assistant professor
• Jessica Walsh, assistant professor

Research Incentives

In 2020, the faculty approved a Research and Extramural Fund Awards program to incentivize the procurement of extramural grants and encourage the publication of research results. The program uses salary savings from extramural grants to (1) fund internal research grants, (2) provide awards to faculty who publish top-tier journal articles or scholarly books and (3) awards to faculty who submit new grant proposals. To date, no faculty have received any extramural grants of sufficient size to fund this program. However, internal grants, both in grant size and number, have risen in the past three years and we anticipate faculty will begin to receive grant awards that meet the program’s criteria in the near future.