A PROFESSOR’S IMPACT

PROFILES BY DANIELLE ANGELO AND SHELBY BICKES TOOLE

Over the last 75 years, many faculty and staff members have made an impact on journalism and integrated marketing communications students. Here are six to celebrate the year.

Jere Hoar, Ph.D.

Ronald Farrar described Dr. Jere Hoar as someone who viewed his desire to be a teacher as a calling, and that no one treated a calling with more respect than him.

Hoar joined the faculty at the University of Mississippi in 1956, and helped set the foundation for the journalism program as one of its first faculty members. He was a full-time journalism professor for 30 years, and continued to teach part-time from 1986-1992.

Hoar received the University’s Outstanding Teacher Award in 1974. He made a strong impact on his students during his time as a professor, and many students, like ‘87 graduate Tom Rieland, said he made them want to become a better journalist.

“I recall getting my first paper back from Dr. Hoar [in our class on] press and contemporary thought,” Rieland said. “I thought I was a pretty good writer, but it was bleeding red from all his markups. Dr. Hoar certainly got your attention and really improved my writing, research and comprehension.”

Hoar had a significant impact on ‘74 graduate Linda Buford Burks.

“Dr. Hoar probably made the biggest impact on me, because he helped me get over my restraint in communicating with white people,” Buford-Burks said. “The first year as a freedom of choice student in high school left emotional scars that caused me to distance myself from whites [that

were] in the same room. At one point during my journalism studies at Ole Miss, I had to give a one-on-one report to Dr. Hoar and instinctively sat close to the door, rather than near his desk. He invited me to come closer, and I did. That was the start of my allowing ‘white folks’ to enter my space without feeling uncomfortable.”

Tom Bearden, a ‘69 graduate, credits Hoar for keeping his career successful.

“My most influential Ole Miss Professor was Dr. Jere Hoar, who taught the class on law as it pertains to journalism,” Bearden said. “As I told him many years later, he’s the reason I never got sued during my 48 years of practicing journalism.”

Hoar was a professor who left his mark on the School of Journalism and New Media at the university. His impact, guidance, and investment in students’ lives will be remembered for years to come.

Patricia Thompson is the assistant dean for student media at the University of Mississippi. She oversees all operations for the university’s Student Media Center where the Daily Mississippian and The Ole Miss yearbook are published and NewsWatch Ole Miss and Rebel Radio are produced.

Before joining the staff at Ole Miss, Thompson worked for more than 25 years as a staff writer and editor for several publications, including The Washington Post and San Jose Mercury News, and assistant professor of journalism at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. She has won many awards throughout her career, including being named Journalism Educator of the Year for 2018-19 by the Southeast Journalism Conference.

During her 12 years at Ole Miss, her knowledge has made an impact on students she worked closely with in the Student Media Center. For 2018 graduate Lana Ferguson, the encouragement and support Thompson offered helped shape her time as a journalism student.

“At The Daily Mississippian, Dean Thompson was like a ‘college mom’ for me,” Ferguson said. “We spent a lot of time together in my different roles at The DM, and she was always a steady coach who knew what we were capable of and made sure we achieved that. She was the shoulder to cry on when I was struggling, but more often, the biggest cheerleader when we were creating award-winning content. She always believes in the students when we sometimes don’t believe in ourselves.”

Like Ferguson, other students cited her wisdom, knowledge and advice.

“Pat Thompson probably had the largest impact on me as someone who was always pushing and challenging me as I grew as a writer and leader,” said 2016 graduate Mallory Lehenbauer.

Dr. Robert Magee is no stranger to students and graduate students in the School of Journalism and New Media, as he is the director of the graduate program and an associate professor. Since joining the Ole Miss family in 2014, Magee has focused his energies on building the graduate program, which has soared to 100 students. However, at the end of the 2020-2021 school year, he will step down as director.

“I am pleased with the leadership of Dr. Marquita Smith (our new assistant dean for graduate programs), and I will continue to be available

Patricia Thompson

Robert Magee, Ph.D.

to her as needed,” Magee said. “I am writing a book on integrated marketing communication that focuses on strategy and approaches to integration. As I’ve taught the graduate principles course in recent years, I’ve become increasingly convinced that advanced students and practitioners alike, need a comprehensive overview of the field.”

He has a Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill, a master’s degree from the University of Miami, a master’s degree from Vanderbilt University, and a Bachelor of Business Administration degree (magna cum laude) from Belmont University.

“I enjoyed Dr. Magee’s classes the most, and I use the skills I learned from their classes everyday in my job,” said Brady Bramlett, 2018 IMC graduate.

Magee is the author of “Persuasion: A Social Science Approach” and the co-author (along with Darren Sanefski and Stefanie Goodwiller) of “Effective Graphic Design,” published by Oxford University Press.

Alysia Burton Steele is a multimedia journalist in the School of Journalism and New Media and author of the book “Delta Jewels: In Search of My Grandmother’s Wisdom.” She joined the Ole Miss family in the fall of 2012.

Professor Steele is known for giving her students the “building blocks” to begin their careers. “She impacted my entire time at Ole Miss for the better,” 2020 graduate Akim Powell said. “She helped me academically, emotionally, and professionally. Professor Steele pushed me because she saw my potential.”

For Steele, photography is so much more than taking pictures.

“Just ‘taking photographs’ has never been enough for me,” said Steele. “Perhaps that’s why I take teaching classes so seriously. I know the power of visuals. People remember moments - we are a visual society. People remember how photos make them feel - I’d like to think that every IMC and journalism major understands the importance of how we communicate visually.”

Photography has been in Steele’s blood since she was accepted as one of only 300 high school students into the prestigious Pennsylvania Governor’s School for the Arts program at only 15 years old. After that, her career dream was decided.

“Students studied art, painting, singing, theater, creative writing, photography, and dance,” Steele said. “We were all classically trained. We stayed in college dorms and took classes all day and had performances and art shows.”

In 2006, she served as a picture editor on the photo team that won the Pulitzer Prize in the breaking news category for their Hurricane Katrina coverage. She’s also won numerous awards for her photography and picture editing. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism from Indiana University of Pennsylvania and her Master’s of Photography from Ohio University’s School of Visual Communication.

When not teaching or working on her next book, she’s busy earning her Ph.D. in U.S. History since the Civil War, focusing on the civil rights movement. While reflecting on her passion in teaching, Steele said, “when I see students proud of the work they produce in my class - to see that they care about the quality of work and understand the principles and theory behind decisions, it makes me feel like I’ve [made] a difference.”

Zenebe Beyene is an Assistant Professor and Coordinator of International Programs in the School of Journalism and New Media. He joined the Ole Miss family in 2017. He specializes in media in conflict and post-conflict societies, and has taught in three other colleges on campus: Croft Institute for International Studies, Public Policy Leadership,

Alysia Burton Steele

Zenebe Beyene, Ph.D.

and Sally Barksdale Honors College.

He gets his passion from personal experience as a prisoner of war. For about two years, Beyene was put in prison during his time at Ethiopia’s naval academy in 1990. He was captured by the Eritrean People’s Liberation Front and was finally freed 20 months later. He accredited this experience with why he has a passion about media and conflict resolution.

“I personally saw the loss of 70,000 people,” said Beyene. “Experiencing this tragedy firsthand really made me think hard about how short life is. I believe that I was spared for a reason, and that reason is to serve humanity without borders. It is that conviction that drives me to travel to different countries and share my expertise. My passion in teaching is to influence people so that nobody will ever resort to violence even under the worst circumstances.”

He says the most exciting part about his job is mentoring and guiding future leaders.

“Nothing is comparable to teaching future leaders who will impact tomorrow,” Beyene said while he reflected on the opportunity he has before him each day in the classroom.

He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Education from Kotobe College of Teacher Education, a Master’s of Arts in Teaching English in a Foreign Language (TEFL) from Addis Ababa University in Ethiopia, an Master’s in Arts in journalism and a Ph.D. in political science from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Beyene taught, researched, and provided training in media and conflict resolution in Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, and the U.S.

“As an educator, I view my students as my own children. I care about their personal and professional development regardless of their background. My goal is to always treat people with dignity, so I can [insure] a better tomorrow.”

Dennis Irwin is an Adjunct Instructor of Visual Design for the School of Journalism and New Media. Prior to his current work, Irwin was in the United States Navy for 8 years in Mass Communications. That experience taught him everything he knows about this field, he said, and introduced him to how vast the field of communications truly is. His favorite part about teaching IMC at Ole Miss is watching the students go from being terrified to take Journalism 273 (Visual Design) to producing high-level design work by the end of the semester.

He holds a Master’s of Graphic Design (UI/UX Specialization) from Arizona State University, Master’s of Business Administration from Park College, a Bachelor’s of Science in Marketing Management from Park College, and a minor in design, certificate in print and broadcast journalism from the Defense Information School (Department of Defense).

Currently, Irwin is working on implementing a new brand initiative throughout the University of Mississippi. He is the Associate Director of Marketing and Brand Strategy at Ole Miss as his “9-5 job,” and spends most of his time working closely with an agency to redesign the olemiss. edu website.

The redesign will be a year(s)-long project that will involve working with various departments on crafting their marketing messaging and re-imagining their web presence. When not teaching and out-of-office, Irwin enjoys making macarons and sharing them with his students.