Sheila Webb

This past year was punctuated by medical leave in the spring for foot surgery. I would love to share a photo of me that a student snapped while I was rolling across campus on my scooter, but another time. I am grateful to have had the opportunity to get the surgery and for the support of the department.

I have become Chair of WWU’s Academic Coordinating Commission, which reviews curricular proposals. This committee is an integral part of faculty governance on campus. Last year, we approved over 600 proposals. Another service activity that is very meaningful to me is serving on the Student Publications Council. It is always an interesting process to interview and then hire the editors for all of the student publications. Their answers to our questions in the interview process reveal a sophisticated and considered approach toward the responsibilities of being a student editor.

I always enjoy participating in the AEJMC annual conference. This year it was in Washington, D.C., so that provided the opportunity to tuck in a visit or two to some national landmarks. I was especially taken with the official portraits of Michelle and Barak Obama at the National Gallery. Seeing these was a new museum experience, as people lined up behind a rope waiting their turn to take a selfie with the former president (or at least his image).

We continue to extend our curriculum. For example, the history class in the summer is done online. To engage the class, students participate in a robust discussion section on all of the readings. They also “hire” a dream team of important practitioners throughout eras from the Colonial Period to today. This allows them to go beyond a simple bio approach to propose a team that might, for example, cover the immigration debate or global warming. I continue to regularly teach Senior Seminar and Ethics. I redid the case examples to deal with the rush of new challenges the media face in the given political climate. I was pleased to see students grapple with coverage of burning issues, for example, an ethics audit of the coverage of the MeToo and Time’s Up movements.