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Advisory Committee

Professor Cross is Director of the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues. Prior to joining the institute, he spent more than 26 years as a reporter at The Courier-Journal, the last 15½ as the Louisville newspaper's chief political writer. His coverage ranged from presidential to local elections and included all facets of state government. His awards include a share of the Pulitzer Prize won by The Courier-Journal staff in 1989 for coverage of the nation's deadliest bus crash. He was co-recipient of an honorable mention for environmental reporting in the Southern Journalism Awards for a 1987 series on strip mining. Cross was national president of the Society of Professional Journalists during 2001-2002. He was national chairman of Project Watchdog, an SPJ effort to explain the role of the news media in a democratic society. He is chairman of the SPJ Resolutions Committee, a member of the group's International Journalism Committee and a director of SPJ's Sigma Delta Chi Foundation. He is the longest-running panelist on KET's weekly "Comment on Kentucky" and has appeared on C-SPAN and "Washington Week In Review."

Dr.Barnes has been Director of the School of Journalism and Telecommunications since July 1, 2003. She came to UK from Syracuse University, where she was an assistant dean overseeing master's degree programs in communications and manager of an intramural champion softball team. Her professional experience is in advertising and marketing communications; she worked in marketing management at United Air Specialists, corporate advertising research at IBM, and media research at DDB Worldwide. She is co-author of Strategic Brand Communication Campaigns, and has published in Journalism & Mass Communication Educator, the Journal of Advertising Education, and the Journal of Marketing Communications. Barnes is currently chair of the Accrediting Committee, the second level of review for the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications. As a member of the Accrediting Committee, she frequently chairs site visits to programs seeking accreditation or re-accreditation. Barnes received a B.A. in English from the College of William and Mary and an M.S. in Advertising and Ph.D. in Communication Studies from Northwestern University.

Dr. Anyaegbunam is an Assistant Professor in the Integrated Strategic Communication program of the UK School of Journalism and Telecommunications, and the Director of Research for the Citizen Kentucky Project. He teaches public relations, communication theories and research. He also specializes in designing communication strategies and media for rural community outreach projects related to civic engagement, health and economic well being. Chike earned his Ph.D. in Journalism and Mass Communication from the University of Iowa, 1994 and has served as a rural communication adviser for a variety of international development projects funded by the United Nations and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). He is currently conducting applied communication research with various organizations, including Appalshop/WMMT Mountain Radio and Appalachia Cancer Network, in several funded community-based projects to improve living conditions and health in rural areas of Appalachian Kentucky. He was the 1992-93 editor of the Journal of Communication Inquiry and is the lead author of a book on participatory rural communication research. He has also contributed chapters on participatory rural communication research to two books published by Cornell University, USA, and Guelph University, Canada.

Dr. Farrell is Director of the First Amendment Center. He succeeded Dr. Roy L. Moore as director in Fall 2006. Dr. Mike Farrell, who has been teaching in the School of Journalism and Telecommunications since 1996, first as a graduate teaching assistant and then as a visiting assistant professor for two years, is now a regular member of the journalism faculty. He was a reporter, city editor and managing editor during a 20-year career at The Kentucky Post. He teaches News Reporting, Copy Editing, Ethics and Media Law. He is in his second term as a member of the Council on Aging for Northern Kentucky and serves on the organizing committee for Northern Kentucky Senior Games. His B.A. was earned at Moody Bible Institute, Chicago, and his M.A. at U.K. He recently received his Ph.D. at UK.

Dr. Eckman has been an assistant professor in the Integrated Strategic Communications sequence since 2002. She teaches strategic writing for ISC disciplines such as direct response, public relations, and advertising campaigns. Dr. Eckman has also taught courses in media planning and visual communications, and she is co-advisor for Ad Club and the School's NASC competition team. Her research interests include advertorial production processes, marketing through new mediums such as video gaming and mobile electronic entertainment, and socio-cultural developments related to the increasing diversity of message delivery systems.

Dr. Eckman completed her Ph.D. in Communication at the University of Kentucky in 2001. She holds an MA in American Studies from the University of Alabama (1994), an MS in Public Relations from the University of Southern Mississippi (1990) and a BA in Journalism (1987) from the University of North Dakota. Her professional experience includes newspaper reporting & sports photography; public relations; advertorial writing, editing & production; copywriting, and graphic design.

Dr. Hertog was awarded his doctorate in Mass Communications from the University of Minnesota in 1990. He received his M.A. in Journalism and Mass Communications from the University of Wisconsin in 1981 and his B.A. in Journalism from the University of Minnesota in 1979. He has taught at the University of Kentucky since 1989, emphasizing strategic communications and mass communication theory and research and, more recently, telecommunications. His research has emphasized the study of press coverage of political protest and minor political parties, and the influence of business on public policy.

Richard Labunski is an associate professor in the School of Journalism and Telecommunications at the University of Kentucky. Prior to joining the UK faculty in 1995, he taught at the University of Washington in Seattle and Penn State. His B.A. is in political science from the University of California, Berkeley. He has an M.A. and Ph.D. in political science from the University of California, Santa Barbara. His J.D. is from Seattle University School of Law. Labunski is the author of five books, including the recently published James Madison and the Struggle for the Bill of Rights (Oxford University Press). He has written numerous journal articles and newspaper commentaries on the First Amendment and related issues. He has also written for the History News Network, History News Service, and has done a commentary for "Talking History" on public radio. Before pursuing an academic career, Labunski worked for ten years in radio and TV news at stations in Washington, D.C., San Francisco, Reno and Tucson.

Professor Ryan is the former Executive Director of the First Amendment Center. He is the creator of the Maestro Concept, an innovative approach to story planning adopted by high school, college and metro daily newspapers nationally and newspapers in more than a dozen countries. His new book, The Editor's Toolbox: A Reference Guide for Beginners and Professionals, with co-author and former Chicago Tribune colleague Michael O'Donnell, is a best seller for Iowa State Press. Ryan served as the eighth director of the School of Journalism and Telecommunications at the University of Kentucky from 1994 to 2002.

Professor Ryan teaches Writing for the Mass Media, Broadcast Decision Making, History of Journalism and Journalism in Secondary Education. She's reported and produced broadcast news in Indianapolis, Boston and Denver. She also taught and advised publications at George Mason University, Fairfax, Va. Ryan earned a B.J. from the University of Missouri School of Journalism and an M.A. from Antioch School of Law. She's served on the Kentucky High School Journalism Association Advisory Council since its inception and became state Journalism Education Association director in August 2000. She is also a member of the Radio-Television News Directors Association.

Janice Birdwhistell has been with the College since May 1999, serving as the College development officer and coordinator for the College's Annual Awards and Recognition Ceremony. She is also responsible for writing various College brochures and coordinating the content and publication of the School of Journalism and Telecommunications Alum Newsletter. With an extensive background in marketing, promotion, association management, event planning and public relations, Janice has served on the UK Annual Giving Task Force, UK National Alumni Association Board of Directors and the President’s Outreach and Extension Program Committee. She currently serves on the UK Communicators Committee and is an elected representative to the UK Staff Senate. In the past, Mrs. Birdwhistell served as deputy commissioner of the Kentucky Department of Travel Development; marketing director for the Kentucky Horse Park; director of tourism for the Greater Lexington Convention and Visitors Bureau; industry and government relations director for the National Tour Association and director of constituent services for the sixth Congressional District from 1993 to 1999.

Verona Cumberledge is Foundation Relations Officer in the Office of Development at the University of Kentucky where she is advisor to the Kentucky Women Writers Conference and a member of the advisory committee of the Scripps-Howard First Amendment Center.

She has over 25 years experience in journalism, communications and philanthropy. Prior to her current position she was vice president of Good Samaritan Foundation and responsible for helping to establish the foundation as a hospital conversion foundation. Cumberledge administered over $1 million grants program annually to health related agencies. She wrote all in house publications and developed a media communications program for local and state media. While at the foundation she was instrumental in helping to write and produce the “Many Meaning of Missions,” a DVD about the partnership with Good Samaritan Foundation and five of the six colleges at the University of Kentucky’s Health Care Enterprise for which the foundation received the Council on Foundation Wilmer Shields Rich Award in 2003. For 10 years Cumberledge was press secretary to Gov. Brereton C. Jones’ Kentucky Health Care Access Foundation. In earlier years she was publications specialist in the Office of the Secretary, Kentucky Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection. She began her career as a reporter at The Herald-Dispatch and Herald-Advertiser in Huntington, WV. Cumberledge holds a bachelor’s degree from Marshall University.