James W. Brown

 
Title
Executive Associate Dean and Professor

Contact
E-mail: jwbrown@iupui.edu
Telephone: (317) 278-5323
Fax: (317) 278-5321
Business URL: http://journalism.iupui.edu

Office Hours
Please call my office for an appointment.

Education

University Degree Year
Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana
Major in Instructional Systems Technology		 Ph.D. 1977
Indiana University M.B.A. 1973
Indiana University M.S. Ed. 1971
Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, Illinois
Major in Cinema and Photography		 B.S. 1967

Dissertation: 'Perceived Environmental Uncertainty and the Two-Step Flow process of Scientific and Technical Communication in Research and Development Laboratories.' Dissertation advisor, James M. Utterback, Ph.D., M.I.T.

Grants
Co-director with Robert Shay, former dean of the Herron School of Art, of a project to develop a high-end visual imaging lab. Funded for $243,000 beginning in fall, 1996. The IRIS imaging lab is equipped for high-end digital image processing and production.

Co-principal investigator with Andrew Schneider, 'Reporters use of On-line Information.' the three month study was funded for $11,000 by Mead data Central beginning October, 1989.

Co-principal investigator with Jon Dilts, 'Reporting on Higher Education.' The two year study investigated important issues in higher education that should receive media attention. Six conferences were conducted to help reporters and executives from media institutions to better understand the faculty and administrative processes of higher education institutions. Funded by the Lilly Endowment, Inc. for $1000,000 beginning April, 1984.

Co-principal investigator with Russell Luepker, 'Communication of Cardiovascular Risk Concepts.' The two year study investigated the diffusion of information about cardiovascular disease in a Minnesota community. A mass media campaign, plus intervention with community opinion leaders, were evaluated for effectiveness in achieving behaviors which reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. Funded by N.I.H. for $114,700 beginning January 1,1979.

Honors
2007 Glen W. Irwin, Jr., M.D. Experience Excellence Award, IUPUI.

2007 Distuinguished Service Award, Hoosier State Press Association.

2004 Silver Beaver Award, Crossroads of America Council, Boy Scouts of America.

1983-Gold Award; Brown, Jensen and Garloff, Inc.; 'Your Heart: A Star on TV;' International Film and Television Festival of New York.

1982-Bronze Award; Brown, Jensen and Garloff, Inc.; 'Caring for Minnesota's Elderly;' International Film and Television Festival of New York.

1966-National Press Photographer's Association, Pictures of the Year competition, Honorable Mention and inclusion in the traveling exhibit.

Media Experience

Year Responsibility
1980-1985 President and C.E.O., Brown, Jensen and Garloff, a Minneapolis based media production firm. Clients included Control Data, Honeywell, 3M and Tonka.
1973-1982 Instructor, Assistant Professor and Associate Professor of broadcast and photojournalism, School of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Minnesota.
1971-1973 Production Supervisor, Indiana University Photographic Laboratory, Bloomington, Indiana.
Summer, 1966 Photographic intern, National Geographic magazine, Washington, D.C.
1964-1967 UPI 'stringer' at Carbondale, Illinois, both commercial and news divisions.

Teaching Experience
In 1973, I began teaching at the University of Minnesota School of Journalism and Mass Communication. I taught broadcast and photojournalism courses and soon became chair of the photojournalism sequence.

I joined the faculty at Indiana University in 1982 and became the founding associate dean for the IUPUI program of the Indiana University School of Journalism. I teach Introduction to Visual Communication and upper division courses that relate to visual communication and new media.

Some of my students have won the National Press Photographer's Association Newspaper Photographer of the Year award, one won the Nikon sabattical grant, one is the editor in chief of National Geographic magazine and two are outstanding professors of photojournalism.

Philosophy of teaching
My father, George Earl Brown, described himself as a farmer who taught chemistry for a living. He grew up in the Ozarks of Missouri within a family of small means. He attended Central Methodist College in Fayette, Missouri, and was the first in his family to earn a college degree.

After graduation, he planned to farm. But the swollen creeks in southwest Missouri prevented him from moving to the farm he wanted to lease. He thought it might be fun to go to graduate school. He earned a Ph.D. in chemistry from Iowa State even though he had not taken chemistry as an undergraduate. Over the course of his career, he taught over 24 different college courses. Many were chemistry courses but he also taught physics, biology and zoology.

He also grew the biggest ear of corn in the county.

From him I learned there is nothing that I should not be interested in. He was as wide ranging in his interests as am I. I also learned the principles of academic standards, honesty and integrity from him.

My mother was a teacher of English and music. She wanted me to have piano lessons. As a youth, there were many other things I wanted to do more than practice piano so I purposely exasperated all my teachers. Several years ago, I realized that I had a latent interest in piano beginning to emerge. I bought a piano, placed a picture of my mother on top and began to practice. Both my mother and father have passed away but I cherish the way they raised me and the standards they set and the interests they gave me.

With both parents being teachers, I suppose it is not surprising that I became one.

A college course is a condensation of readings and experiences that usually would take much longer to accomplish without the guided experiences in the classroom. I try to help students become better at both verbal and visual communication. Every student comes to a course with somewhat different life experiences and skills. I try my best to take students from where they are to where they ought to be. I always try to be fair in all dealings with students, and other people too.

Recent Publications
"Long Journey Home: Oral Histories of Contemporary Delaware Indians," edited by James W. Brown and Rita Kohn. Indiana University Press, Bloomington and Indianapolis, Indiana, 2008.

December, 2007. Exhibition of photographs of Delaware Indians, Indiana Historical Bureau, Indianapolis, Indiana.

'Media Victims,' book chapter in Images that Injure, edited by Paul Lester. Praeger, Westport, Connecticut, 1996.

With Chris Feola, 'Gatezilla vs. news media.' Quill, 83(7), September, 1995, pp. 34-36.

Work in progress
Continued documentary of Delaware Indians.

Professional Affiliations

Professional Service
Past-president, Indiana Professional Chapter, Society of Professional Journalists. During my tenure, the chapter tied for the most active chapter in Region Five with the Chicago Headline Club.

Professional Development
Delegate to the national conference of the Society of Professional Journalists, Seattle, October, 2001.

Co-director with Nora Paul and Brant Houston of a special Poynter Institute session on the 10th anniversary of IUPUI's National institute for Advanced Reporting national conference on Computer-Assisted Journalism, January, 2000.

Personal Interests
Photographing, canoeing, camping, motorcycling, pen making, and piano playing.