Faculty Promotions

hosts a series of live online news programs including The Last Question, and Our Black News, and for the last 12 years, time permitting, he has been dedicated to delivering news and information to Minnesota’s diverse populations.

SETH RICHARDSON

Seth Richardson joins the Hubbard School as a lecturer following a decadelong career as a daily reporter. Most recently, he was the chief politics reporter and assistant politics editor for cleveland. com/The Plain Dealer in Cleveland, Ohio. He previously reported for the Reno Gazette-Journal in Reno, Nev., and The State Journal-Register in Springfield, Ill. He spent the majority of his career covering politics, ranging from local-level races to the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections in the crucial swing states of Nevada and Ohio, respectively. His political reporting and analysis has appeared in national and international outlets, including CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, the BBC, NPR, and C-SPAN. An Iowa native who grew up in Illinois, Richardson earned his bachelor’s degree in journalism from Southern Illinois University Carbondale and his master's degree in public affairs reporting from the University of Illinois Springfield. Richardson began teaching journalism in 2021 at Baldwin Wallace University in Berea, Ohio.

NEW STAFF

The Hubbard School also welcomed four new staff members in the last academic year. BECKY BORG joined the School in a new position as assistant director for external relations and career coach. Borg will build relationships with community organizations and assist students with internships and job searches.

JEAN KUCERA

rejoined the Hubbard School as chief of staff. Kucera held that role previously, before her time at the School of Music. TROY

SCHILLINGER

joined the team as undergraduate student services coordinator and will help students declare and apply to the School’s majors. Finally, GRACE GOTHERS is the School’s new events director, planning and executing the School’s events, including this fall’s Centennial Gala.

HUBBARD SCHOOL PROMOTES FIVE FACULTY MEMBERS

The University of Minnesota Regents voted to promote four faculty members to the position of associate professor with tenure, and one tenured associate professor to the position of tenured full professor. The vote was ratified on May 12 and the promotions took effect July 1, 2022, for Matt Carlson, Colin Agur, Valérie Bélair-Gagnon, Adam Saffer and Claire Segijn. University of Minnesota and Yale Law School Information Society Project. She uses qualitative methods and theories at the intersection of the sociology of work and organizations and journalism studies. She is the author of The Paradox of Connection, Journalism Research That Matters, and Social Media at BBC News. She was also named Cowles Fellow in Media Management.

MATT CARLSON, PROFESSOR

Matt Carlson is director of graduate studies at the School. He is the author or editor of six books and has published more than 60 journal articles and book chapters. His research within the field of journalism studies concentrates primarily on how different actors publicly compete to define journalism and its boundaries, dictate its normative and ethical commitments, and establish proper forms of news. He was also named Cowles Fellow in Journalism.

COLIN AGUR, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR

Colin Agur’s research explores emerging media, with interests in mobile communication, digital games, and the political economy of media. In addition to his book, Education and Social Media: Toward a Digital Future (2016, MIT Press), his work has appeared in leading journals such as New Media & Society, Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, Social Media + Society, Mobile Media & Communication, and Journalism. He was also named Cowles Fellow in Journalism, Media and Mobility.

VALÉRIE BÉLAIR-GAGNON, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR

Valérie Bélair-Gagnon is affiliated with the Department of Sociology at the

ADAM SAFFER, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR

Adam Saffer teaches Strategic Communication at the Hubbard School after beginning his career on the faculty of the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill's Hussman School of Journalism and Media. Saffer's research revolves around a core interest in understanding the ways individuals, groups, and organizations use and are influenced by communication networks. He was named one of the 25 most prolific authors in communication in 2021 by the Observatory of International Research (OOIR).

CLAIRE M. SEGIJN, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR

Claire Segijn’s work focuses on the intended and unintended effects of using multiple media simultaneously (multiscreening and synced advertising). She studies how media multitasking affects information processing and advertising effectiveness, as well as privacy concerns and ethical ramifications of synced advertising and other forms of corporate surveillance. She was named Mithun Program Fellow in Advertising and her work has been honored with numerous awards and grants.