Desirae Gostlin
Desirae Gostlin is a first-year Master of Mass Communication student. Her reporting has been featured in The Waterfront and Lexington Life Magazine among others.
Posted August 31, 2016
By Desirae Gostlin, first-year Master of Mass Communications student
New faces abound in the School of Journalism and Mass Communications. Five faculty have joined the ranks of USC’s celebrated staff, and two faculty have moved to different positions. Experienced both inside the classroom and in the field, their breadth of specialties ranges from media law to public relations to news reporting.
Ernie Grigg
Ernie Grigg comes to USC from the Big Apple where he taught at NYU. This semester he is teaching PR Writing, PR Campaigns and the Bateman Team — a PRSSA case study competition in public relations. He is most excited to see students apply the material they learn in his class to their actual careers and internships.
The caliber of undergraduate studies attracted Grigg to the Famously Hot city. “I’ve also previously taught in a business school, and I wanted to work with journalism students because they have a different level of intellectual curiosity that makes the classroom fun,” explains Prof. Grigg.
Holly Ott
Coming to humid South Carolina has been a smooth transition for Dr. Holly Ott who originally hails from the Hershey area of Pennsylvania where “literally the streets smell like chocolate.” After spending four years teaching in the Communication/Journalism Department at Shippensburg University in Pennsylvania, Ott has come to USC to continue her academic research in and share her passion for integrated communications.
This semester Dr. Ott is teaching the graduate level Integrated Communications Principles and advising the USC chapter of PRSSA/IABC.
Eric Robinson
Dr. Eric Robinson is bringing his expertise in First Amendment Law to Gamecock country. He is teaching Law and Ethics of the Mass Media and is most excited for students— even the ones who may be worried about the complexity of his class— to learn how familiarity with the law will help avoid mistakes in their careers.
A love of the media has been with Dr. Robinson since his early childhood when he started his own newspaper, The Robinson Press. In moving to the Carolinas, he is excited about traveling to the diverse geographical surrounding areas such as the Grand Strand and the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Jeffrey Williams
Jeffrey Williams is teaching several undergraduate advertising classes this semester. He is excited to bring his expertise in fine and commercial arts to the school where he plans to teach students real world application of their classroom lessons to make them highly employable upon graduation.
Having previously owned his own production company and taught in Texas and Florida, he is currently working on a personal film project with a crew of 12. “As a creative, you can't turn your back on the personal projects, they are far more valuable than the commercial art. Advertising commercial art is a lot of fun and it puts food on the table, but you have to keep pushing yourself to take the bigger risks with personal artwork, this is where you grow as an artist,” Prof. Williams explains.
Linwan Wu
Dr. Linwan Wu is looking forward to continuing his research in mass communications by coming to the University of South Carolina — a Research I institute. Bringing international experience in marketing, he is excited for students to take his Media Analysis class where students will learn the importance of media buying in the advertising industry.
When Wu isn’t in the classroom or conducting research, he enjoys spending time with his family, playing basketball and assembling model cars and robots.
Two faculty members are not new to the USC campus; however, their roles and duties have changed.
Carolyn Click
Carolyn Click has been hammering down beats as a reporter for 35 years for wire and newspaper platforms and is transferring her skills into a career in academia. She is teaching Senior Semester and Intermediate Reporting and Production.
“I want students to learn how to write and report with honesty and integrity, figure out how to conduct effective and illuminating interviews, and help readers and viewers understand the world around them. Journalists are so important in a democratic society and much needed in this no-holds-barred, facts-and-opinion-saturated culture in which we live,” says Click.
Carmen Maye
Dr. Carmen Maye enjoys time on the tennis court, but plays hardball in her Mass Media Law and Ethics classroom. She emphasizes the many facets of First Amendment Law so students can “understand that one of its primary functions is to protect not just the speech we like or that we find agreeable, but also the speech we find to be objectionable or distasteful.”
She’s moving from instructor to the tenure track. “This semester, as an assistant professor, my focus is broader. It includes research and service to the university and larger academic community, in addition to teaching. The challenge will be figuring out how to effectively balance those responsibilities,” Maye explains.