April 2001

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Ken Smith is teaching a graduate course in media management.

First Park professor brings decades of experience

Photo by Maricarmen Josephs

When the School offered Ken Smith a teaching position for the spring semester, he did not have to think twice before making the long journey from Wyoming to North Carolina.

"I knew coming in that this was the top journalism school in the country," Smith said. "It is easy to know what to do when you get an opportunity like this."

Smith, the School’s first Park professor, brought decades of journalism experience to the classroom, while leaving his cowboy hat at home. His professorship, funded by the Park Foundation, allows him to spend a semester teaching graduate-level courses and working with graduate students.

"The more I can do, the more defined the position will be," he said of the newly created professorship.

Smith received a bachelor’s degree in zoology from Iowa State University, but after working in a laboratory and looking at "one too many fecal samples," he decided to pursue a communication career. He earned a master’s degree in journalism from Iowa State, received his doctorate in communication from the University of Utah and has been a professor at the University of Wyoming since 1990.

His areas of study are concentrated in media management and visual communication. At the University of Wyoming, he teaches a wide range of courses from media management and news-editorial writing to craft courses, such as photojournalism and graphic design.

At the School, Smith has been teaching a graduate course in media management. He said media management is an important course, because it relates to all journalism and mass communication careers.

As a visiting professor, Smith has been able to apply his real-life experiences in an academic setting. He worked 10 years at the Green River Star, a newspaper in Wyoming, first as advertising manager and eventually publisher. While he was there, the newspaper won 42 national stars for excellence, and it received the Editorial Leadership Cup six times.

Smith also has served on the board of directors for Sage Publishing Company, the owner of many newspapers in Wyoming and Montana.

When he’s not teaching, Smith has offered to give guest lectures or provide other assistance to faculty members. He’s also making use of his time at the School, and in North Carolina, to continue his own projects, such as analyzing the aspects of community media and co-authoring a book about visual communication.

"I’ve been extremely impressed with everything," Smith said. "I can see why this is a top school — the faculty are extremely strong in many diverse ways, and there is a lot of support from the School’s administration."

Smith said he has enjoyed becoming acclimated to a new part of the country, and he was relieved to find the same items on grocery store shelves in North Carolina as in Wyoming.

"I thought that I would have to change my diet," he said. "Perhaps the only difference is that North Carolina has a few more grits and less Rocky Mountain oysters than Wyoming."

Marcie Dishman is a senior in the public relations sequence.