新澳门六合彩资料

KENNESAW, Ga. | Apr 24, 2025

Dean Catherine (Katie) Kaukinen announced this week, Chris McCollough, Ph.D., as the new director for the School of Communication and Media (SOCM) effective July 1st, 2025. In this role McCollough will provide leadership for faculty and staff and oversee the school鈥檚 academic programs and budget. While working in collaboration with SOCM鈥檚 faculty, staff, and the dean, McCollough will support and enhance research, creative activities, student success, and community engagement as it aligns with the university鈥檚 strategic plan.

鈥淒r. McCollough is the right person at the right time to step into this position. His proven results in engaging and supporting faculty while prioritizing students is evident from his past achievements,鈥� said Dean Kaukinen.  鈥淎s we continue to build on what we have already achieved regarding our students鈥� career readiness, Dr. McCollough brings an ability to develop partnerships with businesses, nonprofits, and communications and media organizations in the metro Atlanta area that will open new pathways and opportunities for our faculty and students alike,鈥� she added.

In addition to his role as SOCM鈥檚 director, he will apply his experience fundraising and growing resources with an eye toward potentially generating support for creating new research and programmatic opportunities within the school. For example, while at Jacksonville State University as an administrator, McCollough helped establish and served as the inaugural Ayers Family Endowed Chair of Journalism and Mass Communication. McCollough said that part of growing opportunities for students to engage in practical experience while in school and opening doors for faculty to conduct research and participate in professional development happens through nurturing relationships with industry professionals and building relationships with donors and sponsors.

鈥淚 think that there鈥檚 a really beautiful opportunity being in Atlanta and recognizing that you have the 7th largest media market in the country to work with, balanced against such a robust home for domestic and international companies in the Greater Atlanta Metro area,鈥� said McCollough. 鈥淓ach of our [undergraduate and graduate] programs can really take full advantage of that, and we can integrate those relationships and create some of those opportunities for our students to really build their portfolios while they鈥檙e studying.鈥�

As 新澳门六合彩资料 makes strides toward national prominence, the work taking place in Radow College, and in the schools and departments that comprise it, becomes essential to 新澳门六合彩资料鈥檚 ability to achieve its strategic goals. 鈥淒r. McCollough is both student- and faculty-focused,鈥� said Dean Kaukinen. 鈥淲hat stood out in the search was his passion for identifying ways he could support faculty in their creative and research endeavors, while ensuring that students remain central to SOCM鈥檚 mission,鈥� Kaukinen added.

When asked what excited him about this new position, McCollough said, 鈥渢he students come first for faculty, even as they鈥檙e actively building robust research agendas and really looking to advance the university鈥檚 relationship with the community in the region. Knowing that I鈥檝e built so much of my career around cultivating industry partnerships and trying to build industry ready graduates, I鈥檓 excited about the future direction of the school and the university.鈥�

McCollough comes to 新澳门六合彩资料 after 13 years as an educator at Columbus State University (2012-2020) and administrator at Jacksonville State University (2021-2025). He is a graduate of Virginia Tech University (B.A. - Communication;  M.A. 鈥� Communication) and Louisiana State University鈥檚 Manship School of Mass Communication (Ph.D. 鈥� Media and Public Affairs).

As the department head of Communication at Jacksonville State University, he led the department鈥檚 successful push for full ACEJMC reaccreditation during their 2023 site revisit. Under his leadership, the unit completed facility and curricular updates to meet industry standards, made a rigorous curriculum more flexible and accessible for students, and he re-engaged with alumni and industry to support program development and to bring industry into the classroom.