The Carleton School of Journalism and Communication is proud to congratulate five members of its faculty (three from Communication and Media Studies, one from Journalism, and one from Media Production and Design) on their achievement of confirmation or tenure. This marks a significant milestone in each of their respective academic careers.
Nana aba Duncan (Journalism) and Armond Towns (Communication and Media Studies) have been granted tenure (meaning they now hold their positions on a permanent basis). Vincent Andrisani and Emily Hiltz (Communication and Media Studies) as well as Katie Graham (Media Production and Design) have been confirmed, which is a tenure equivalent granted to instructors (faculty who focus primarily on teaching).
Andrisani and Hiltz have also been promoted to the new rank of Associate Professor, Teaching Stream (which replaces the rank of Instructor III).
Confirmation, promotion, and tenure committees are formed from amongst the ranks of Carleton’s faculty. They perform rigorous peer assessments of each candidates’ teaching, research, and service during their first five years at Carleton.
We are so thankful to Armond, Emily, Katie, Nana aba, and Vincent for the contributions they have already made to the School, and we look forward to their continued accomplishments in years to come. Read on to learn more about what they’ve already achieved since coming to Carleton.
Vincent Andrisani
Associate Professor, Teaching Stream,
Communication and Media Studies
Dr. Vincent Andrisani became a member of the Communication and Media Studies faculty in July 2019 alongside Dr. Emily Hiltz, who was also confirmed this month. He holds a PhD in Communication Studies from Simon Fraser University, and both a Bachelor’s and Master’s in Environmental Studies from York University. Andrisani specializes in sound studies, an academic practice informed by his background as a musician.
Andrisani performed as a drummer in both Toronto and Havana, Cuba. He performed across a wide range of musical styles and gained an interest in Cuban popular music. This interest grew from artistic to academic, and eventually became the subject of his doctoral research, which included a residency in Havana with the Fundacíon Fernando Ortiz.
This academic interest in sound and listening has continued into Andrisani’s time at Carleton. He produces The Place of Sound, a podcast/radio show that airs on CKCU FM, Carleton’s campus radio station. On alternating Monday evenings, the show, which explores the idea of “place” through listening, features original podcast material developed by Communication and Media Studies students.
Andrisani has received multiple grants through Carleton’s Teaching and Learning Services and the Faculty of Public Affairs (including one which supports The Place of Sound). In 2023, he received the Faculty of Public Affairs Teaching Excellence Award.
When asked about Andrisani’s contributions to the SJC, Professor Benjamin Woo (Program Head, Communication and Media Studies, said that “from first-year survey lectures to advanced workshops in digital media production, Professor Andrisani can do it all. Drawing on his background in sound studies, Vincent invites his students to listen to the world around them as a way of engaging in the classroom and in the community. I know his students and colleagues alike value his enthusiasm and warmth.”
Andrisani will teach three courses in the upcoming academic year. Two of them, COMS 1001 and 1002, make up the groundwork of the Bachelor of Communication and Media Studies which all first years are required to take. COMS 1001 examines the foundations of communication and media studies, while COMS 1002 explores communication and media as they related to issues in the present day. His third course is a 4th year digital media production seminar, which sees students producing podcasts which sometimes air as part of The Place of Sound.
Nana aba Duncan
Associate Professor, Journalism
Carty Chair in Journalism, Diversity, and Inclusion Studies
Nana aba Duncan joined Carleton’s Journalism program in 2021 as both an Associate Professor and as the inaugural Carty Chair in Journalism, Diversity, and Inclusion Studies. The first of its kind in Canada, the Carty Chair’s mandate is to change the way journalism students learn the basics of their craft, with a goal of training more sensitive, inclusive reporters.
To this end, Duncan launched “Journalism and Belonging”, a new third-year course which explores how ideas like diversity, difference, and inclusion shape not only journalism but also Canadian society. In recognition of her work, she received the 2024 Equity and Inclusion Excellence Award from the Faculty of Public Affairs.
Duncan came to Carleton after an illustrious career in journalism. After completing her Master of Journalism at the University of Western Ontario, she worked for Journalists for Human Rights in Ghana before joining CBC Radio where she worked for more than a decade. While at CBC, she co-chaired an employee resource group for over 300 employees of colour and created the Media Girlfriends podcast production company.
Duncan is currently undertaking a SSHRC-funded project to research the experiences of Black journalists in Canada through the Mary Ann Shadd Cary Centre for Journalism and Belonging. Named for the first Black woman to publish a newspaper in North America, Professor Duncan founded the Shadd Cary Centre in 2023.
“Prof. Duncan was already an agent of change at the CBC when she came to Carleton and true to form, she has helped to change the way we teach journalism at Carleton,” said Journalism program head Allan Thompson. “Outside the classroom, Prof. Duncan’s research is charting new ground in our understanding of the experiences of Black journalists in Canadian news organizations. We are so lucky to have her.”
At the end of the month, Duncan will leave for Chicago to attend the 2024 convention of the National Association of Black Journalists. She will be joined by the 2024 Shadd Cary Fellows, a delegation of Black Canadian journalists who are either mid-career or student journalists. The fellowship will cover their travel, accommodation, and registration for the convention, with a goal of professional development as well as building connections with Black journalists in the United States. In September, she will teach a seminar on the history of Black journalism in Canada, as well as advanced audio journalism workshops for both 4th year undergraduates and students in the Master of Journalism program.
Katie Graham
Assistant Professor, Teaching Stream,
Media Production and Design
Katie Graham became an Instructor with the Media Production and Design (MPAD) program in July of 2019. She holds a B.AS and M.Arch from Carleton University’s Azrieli School of Architecture and Urbanism, and is currently completing a PhD in Architecture.
She previously taught as a Contract instructor for the Azrieli School and for Algonquin College’s Bachelor of Building Science program and brings a passion for new technologies into the classroom. This fall, she will be teaching two MPAD core courses: 1st year Intro to Storytelling and 2nd year Basics of Visual Communication.
“In her role as an instructor in the Bachelor of Media Production and Design program and most recently as the interim program director, Prof. Graham is constantly working to increase the sense of belonging among her students in the classroom and in her program,” Thompson said. “She does this by creating opportunities to foster collaboration and learning outside of the classroom.”
Prior to joining the School of Journalism and Communications, Graham spent a decade working with the Carleton Immersive Media Studio (CIMS), a research lab affiliated with the School of Architecture. CIMS focuses on understanding and exploring architecture through advanced digital technologies.
As the leader of a team at CIMS, raham received a Prix Gémaux (Canada’s French-language television awards) for her work on “Parliament: A Virtual Experience”. She also received the 2024 Teaching Excellence Award from Carleton’s Faculty of Public Affairs. In addition to congratulating Professor Graham on her confirmation, we extend our gratitude for her service as interim Director of the MPAD program (a role she filled from July 2023-July 2024).
Emily Hiltz
Associate Professor, Teaching Stream,
Communication and Media Studies
Dr. Emily Hiltz joined the Communication and Media Studies faculty in July of 2019. She is herself a graduate of the School of Communication and Media Studies, having completed her PhD in Communication at Carleton. She also holds an MA in Media Studies and a BA in Media, Information, and Technoculture from the University of Western Ontario.
In both teaching and research, Hiltz focuses on visual media culture, identity, gender, and sexuality, and online communication, as well as on approaching these topics in creative, interdisciplinary, and critical ways. She has published and presented on misogyny and the Depp v Heard trial, “anti-vaxx” moms on reddit, and criminal notoriety through its connections to visual culture.
“In her first five years on faculty, Professor Hiltz has shouldered responsibility for our introducing our undergraduate students to the practice of communications research,” said Dr. Benjamin Woo. “In addition to this tremendously important role, she has taught well-regarded courses on gender and on crime, as well as supported many of our co-op students. We all admire the thoughtful and dedicated approach she brings to her work.”
In 2022, Hiltz received the Faculty of Public Affairs Teaching Excellence Award for her work in curriculum development alongside her commitment to student engagement, support, and satisfaction. She is currently researching student perspectives on the learning outcomes of the co-op program and developing a broader process for student consultation during program review cycles, both of which are supported through a Carleton Scholarship of Teaching and Learning grant.
Hiltz teaches at both the undergraduate and graduate level, in topics ranging from introductory and qualitative research courses to specialized courses on media and crime or media, gender, and sexuality. She regularly supervises undergraduate and graduate students working on a wide range of topics, and mentors students through both the Students as Partners Program and through Graduate Research Assistantships.
Dr. Armond R. Towns
Associate Professor,
Communication and Media Studies
Dr. Armond Towns was appointed as Associate Professor of Communication and Media Studies on July 2021. Professor Towns holds a PhD in Communication Studies from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and previously worked as an Assistant Professor at University of Richmond (2018-2021) and the University of Denver (2015-2018).
Dr. Woo said that “the hallmark of Professor Towns’s scholarship is a clear-eyed engagement with our discipline’s past in order to chart a more just and inclusive future for communication and media studies. He is also a highly respected teacher who imparts these same values to his students. The awarding of tenure is a well-deserved recognition of Armond’s achievements and intellectual leadership in the field.”
Towns’ research brings together Black studies, cultural studies, and media philosophy. His book, On Black Media Philosophy, was published by the University of California Press in 2022. On Black Media Philosophy demonstrates that media philosophy has relied on an understanding of the human as a Western, white, male, capitalist figure. Through concepts drawn from Black studies and Cultural studies, Professor Towns critiques this conception and creates a foundation for Black media philosophy.
Towns is also the cofounder and inaugural editor of Communication and Race, a journal which “publishes research on the centrality of race, racism, and colonialism to the praxis of communication from Black, Ethnic, Latinx, Indigenous, and Asian voices” (Taylor & Francis, 2024). Issue #1 of Communication and Race was published earlier this year, marking the first new journal from the National Communication Association in over two decades.
Towns has just begun a one-year leave of absence. He will spend the 2024-2025 academic year at Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts, where he will support the formation and launch of a new major in Africana Studies.
Wednesday, July 3, 2024 in Communication News, Faculty In The News, General, Journalism Events, Media Production News, News
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