The College of Journalism and Mass Communications is excited to welcome two new faculty members to the team this fall. Please join us in welcoming Assistant Professor of Sports Promotion Kelsey Slater and Assistant Professor of Practice Ellesandra (Elle) Stecher.
This semester, Slater will teach SPMC 205: Beginning Sports Writing for News and Promotion and JOMC 487: Media Ethics and Society. She previously taught courses in sport media and communication, international sport marketing and sport ethics.
She started her career as a scholar at North Dakota State University, where she was an assistant professor of sport management in the Department of Health, Nutrition and Exercise Sciences.
While at NDSU, she won a $35,000 grant through the Increase and Diversify Education Abroad for US Students (IDEAS) program. This funding supported the development and execution of a six-week course and internship program for sport management students in Cape Town, South Africa. After the completion of her grant, she was selected to the Fulbright Specialist roster and is currently pending an assignment to work on internationalization initiatives.
Slater's research examines the relationship between sport, media and society and focuses on international and comparative perspectives. Her work has appeared in Communication & Sport, International Review for the Sociology of Sport, International Journal of Communication and Sport, Journal of Sports Media, African Studies Quarterly and Howard Journal of Communications.
She has presented her research at numerous national and international academic conferences, including the International Association of Communication and Sport (IACS), the North American Society for Sport Management (NASSM), the Sports Africa Conference and the Applied Sport Management Association Conference.
Stecher first began teaching at the college in 2021. She teaches courses in advertising and visual communication. Her classroom goal is to prepare students for careers in advertising, public relations and multimedia communication.
Stecher began her career in higher education healthcare at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln’s University Health Center, where she supported campus-wide communications and marketing initiatives.
She later joined the Brain Injury Association of Nebraska as marketing and project coordinator, leading statewide events, strengthening the organization’s digital presence and building partnerships to expand awareness of brain injury resources.
At CompanyCam, a B2B SaaS company, Stecher managed national partnerships, executed multi-city event series and developed marketing campaigns that significantly boosted brand visibility and engagement.
As a freelance consultant since 2017, Stecher helps organizations refine their marketing strategies, optimize media buying and use data to drive decision-making. Across all roles, she has built a reputation for creating compelling messages, fostering community connections and turning strategic ideas into measurable results.
