Faculty Profile: Introducing Professor John Drew

Beginning in the Fall 2024 semester, the Communication Studies Department welcomed a new face to its faculty lineup: Assistant Professor John Drew. Drew specializes in Strategic Communication, having earned a BA in economics from Duke University, an MA in Media Studies from The New School, and an MFA in Design and Technology from Parsons School of Design. 

John Drew HeadshotBy incorporating a type of life coaching into his curriculum, meeting the students where they are and hearing their anxieties, Drew has found that he can connect those concerns with his teaching and provide real strategies to offer a way forward. He teaches his students the importance of developing a design-centered way of thinking that constructs various design systems as design opportunities.

“You just have to figure out what the parameters are and where the entry points are and where the opportunities are for your own benefit,” Drew said. This is a strategy Drew has had to use in his own life, altering his career path strategically based on changes in the marketplace, ultimately bringing him to Strategic Communication as a discipline.

Starting out as a print journalist in the early 2000s, Drew watched as legacy print establishments were going out of business and everything was moving online. He found his skill set lacking, leading him to determine he needed to adapt his skills to the changing times. This got him into a period of video journalism and filmmaking, as well as grant writing. Eventually he got on the track to grad school to develop more skills. Drew referred to this time as being transformative. It was in grad school where a mentor persuaded him to try teaching. Due to his strategic way of thinking and learning through the course of his life of how to pivot and carefully assess the marketplace and develop skills in response to it, Drew found himself in the world of academia teaching his students the same way of thinking.

Drew’s most recent research has been funded by the Mozilla Foundation through its Responsible Computing Challenge which, according to the Mozilla Foundation’s website,  “supports the conceptualization, development, and piloting of curricula that empowers students to think about the social and political context of computing.” To this end, Drew has already developed two new courses with collaborators at Adelphi University where Drew previously served as Associate Professor. These courses are to help Mozilla make computer science accessible and compelling to a more diverse student body, making them think about responsible tech, and ideally become responsible technologists themselves. 

At New Paltz this year Drew has taught Social Media and PR, Design and PR, Intro to Strategic Comm., and a grad class Organizational Writing and Design Across Media. Next year he will be teaching Design and PR, the Seminar in Strategic Comm., as well as another grad course, Environmental Communication, Organizations, and Sustainability.

Drew has enjoyed his time here at New Paltz so far. Already living in the Hudson Valley, he enjoys the area and is much happier to be closer to home. Additionally, Drew has found it refreshing being a part of the public university system. Having a diverse student body in many ways, the students at SUNY New Paltz have given him a fresh perspective with their eagerness to learn and desire to enrich their education to apply later in the future. 

“Teaching here has been a joy. I feel like the majority of my students thus far are engaged and responsive and I am learning a lot from them. I’m very grateful to be here, despite having to earn tenure all over again!”

Alumni Profile: A Thoughtful Interview with Alumna Maddy Shannon, Coordinator of SEFA and Subsequent Florida State University Grad Student

Interviewed by Jacob Graham-Bialer
Maddy Shannon is a SUNY New Paltz Strategic Communication graduate who has held numerous positions. She has been the cashier team leader at Bagels and Bites, front desk agent at Hasbrouck House, and Donor Development Intern and Coordinator at United Way of Dutchess and Orange counties. She hopes to earn a graduate degree in Integrated Marketing and Management Communications. Throughout her various occupations, Shannon has been a stalwart learner, and she excels in the field of communications—both written and verbal.

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Strategic Comm Intern Needed for Outreach and Social Media Opportunity with UU Catskills Congregation

The Unitarian Universalist Congregation of the Catskills (UU Catskills) seeks a junior or senior intern majoring in Strategic Communication for the spring semester and/or summer to develop and implement a strategy and outreach plan to help our congregation reach its marketing goals. Responsibilities will include reading and understanding the congregation’s current and five year goals, developing key messages for the public, creating a strategic marketing and social media plan , posting frequently on social media, including Facebook, Instagram, and possibly Twitter, tracking of progress (e.g. number of engagements, followers, etc.) and writing one or two news releases or internal newsletter pieces a month.

There will be a stipend of TBD (to be determined after discussion with the professor and intern) in two installments: one halfway through and the second at the conclusion of the internship.

Time commitment will be greater during the first month of the internship when the student meets with the supervisor, learns about UU Catskills, develops plans and implementation strategies. This period will require to five to ten hours per week. Thereafter, responsibilities should take three to six hours per week, mostly working independently. Supervision and collaboration with UU Catskills will be done virtually.

Please send resume and cover letter to:
Paula Silbey

Paulasilbey@gmail.com

Location: Sanctuary in Kingston but congregants come from Ulster, Dutchess, Greene and Albany Counties.