Faculty Updates

Andrew Anglin Assistant Professor Anglin teaches classes in the advertising concentration, with the Disney and Sports Branding classes being the most popular. He was elected to the executive board at the Topeka Advertising Federation and was named the organization’s 2020 Carolyn Terhune Volunteer of the Year Award. This fall, Anglin was presented with a Student Life Achieving Excellence Award for exhibiting excellence in working with the students in his classes.

Regina Cassell Senior Lecturer Cassell won the Advisor of the Year Award as part of Washburn’s Student Organization Achievement Awards for her work as director of Student Media in 2019. She also was granted a Sweet Sabbatical in 2020, which will be postponed to summer 2021 because of COVID-19.

Sam Finch Lecturer Finch’s classes focus on developing students’ skills in screenwriting, film editing and video production. As content director for the Washburn International Film Institute, Finch leads the selection committee for submitted films. Finch continues to develop hands-on learning opportunities for students. This summer, he will offer an online course exploring iconic film directors like Alfred Hitchcock, Stanley Kubrick and Quentin Tarantino.

Kristen Grimmer Assistant Professor Since 2018, Grimmer has been overseeing the publication of the Mass Media Alumni Newsletter, which uses reporting from students. In the summer, Grimmer will teach a new course called Military and the Media, which will feature guest speakers from both the Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth and Topeka’s Veterans Affairs.

Tracy Horacek Senior Administrative Assistant Horacek is learning software applications such as InDesign and Canva. Assisting the department with events like the annual Keynote Speaker Event and the WIFI film festival has challenged her to find new ways to organize and track information.

Matthew Nyquist Assistant Professor Nyquist teaches students skills in directing, producing, assistant directing, cinematography, screenwriting, sound, editing, and professional development. He is the faculty adviser for the WIFI Student Council and is the driving force behind the WIFI Film Festival. His new class Video Game Storytelling pulls together the creative, business and mass media aspects of the industry. In May, 2019, Nyquist received a Student Life Achieving Excellence Award

Maria Stover Professor and Chair Stover spent the last year leading the department’s curriculum revision efforts, which incorporated an industry analysis and an alumni survey. As managing director of the WIFI film festival, Stover secured $6,000 in funding for the 2020 festival and worked on bringing in expanded community connections. She was honored to receive the Women of Influence Award in Education for 2019.

2019-20 Adjuncts The department gives a big thanks to Patrick Early, Tim Hrenchir, Maxwell Kautsch, Barbara Shuck and Eugene Williams for delivering outstanding education to our students.

COVID-19 Despite the cancellation of the second annual WIFI film festival and the Keynote Speaker Event, the faculty did create a special Senior Celebration Zoom event for those who were graduating.