Jessica Fargen Walsh is an assistant professor in the College of Journalism and Mass Communications where she teaches editing and reporting classes.
Jessica was a reporter for 12 years at news organizations including The Associated Press, The Patriot Ledger and the Boston Herald, where she learned to cultivate sources, turn curiosity into front-page stories, dig for public records and relentlessly knock on doors. She has won several regional press awards including a share in one for breaking news and another for a series of stories about a Boston plastic surgeon who was accused of operating while impaired. She also led the Boston Herald’s effort to get the Massachusetts state parole board to make its votes public.
She taught part time at the College of Journalism and Mass Communications for seven years before joining the faculty full time in 2020. She is co-author and editor of the textbook "everybody's an Editor" and the course leader for JOUR200A, a required class for all majors. In 2019, she created, reported, edited and took photos and videos for a special projects website on Nebraska's drinking water quality. In 2020, she was selected as a Kopenhaver Center Fellow. She is also a memebr of UNL's 2020 Peer Evaluation of Teaching Task Force.
Jessica lives with her three children, her husband, Mike, and a pet hamster. She is on the board of the Friends of Pioneers Park Nature Center, where she supports one of Lincoln’s great natural resources. Jessica received a bachelor's degree in journalism and a master's degree in journalism, both from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. She is a proud alumna of the Daily Nebraskan. You can read more on her website.