Mass Communication is now a department; led by Stan McKinney

by Gerard Flanagan, news writer/photographer/social media, Office of University Communications

Campbellsville, KY (11/18/2021) — This year has produced a sea of positive change for mass communication at Campbellsville University.

In January, the university's new Mass Communication Center officially opened on Meader Street in Campbellsville, and during recent Homecoming festivities, a ribbon cutting formally dedicated the new facility.

The Mass Communication area was also named a department, and Stan McKinney, associate professor of journalism and adviser to the Campus Times newspaper, is its first chair.

He previously was lead professor of mass communication.

"I'm proud to be the first chair," McKinney said. "I'm proud of our professors also. They're people who have worked in the industry and understand what it's like to work in the industry. I'd compare them to anyone in the country. They're dedicated to our students and preparing them for the world."

According to McKinney, prior to becoming a department, Mass Communication operated under the Division of Humanities at the university.

"There's no problem with that, but at times we were discussing things that had nothing to do with us," McKinney said. "We had a need to meet more often and discuss things that more directly affect us. It also gives us our own budget, which is very advantageous because we were having to share money with humanities."

McKinney said plans are in the works to add a master's degree and a degree in sports reporting.

"It means I get to do a lot more paperwork, but that comes with it," McKinney said. "We have a little more say over our own destiny."

McKinney has been a full-time professor in Mass Communication since 2000. He had been an adjunct professor since 1987 prior to that.

McKinney graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Journalism from Murray State University in 1974 and a Master of Science in Communication with Journalism Emphasis from Murray State University in 1987.

McKinney's journalism career has spanned nearly three decades at three different Kentucky newspapers: The Sturgis News in Sturgis, Ky. (1974-1975), where he was a reporter/photographer; The Sentinel-News in Shelbyville, Ky. (1976-1980), where he was a reporter/photographer; and the Central Kentucky News-Journal in Campbellsville, Ky., (1980-2000), where he was news editor. He also served as interim editor for the LaRue County Herald-News in 2001 for six weeks.

McKinney has won numerous awards throughout his career including many from the Kentucky Press Association and Society of Professional Journalists and at Campbellsville University an Excellence in Teaching for adjunct instructor in 1996 and Distinguished Professor in 2010.

He has been a member and officer of many community organizations.

McKinney has been a member of the Campbellsville City Council for 17 years. He is also a member of the Kentucky Press Association Board.

He is married to Joan C. McKinney, director of university communications at Campbellsville University, and they have one daughter, Calen McKinney, academic support specialist at the Louisville Education Center who teaches as an adjunct with Campbellsville University and who previously was a reporter/photographer with the Central Kentucky News-Journal and public information officer with the Campbellsville Independent School System.

McKinney is the son of the late Norvell and Gurtha May Sisk McKinney of Princeton, Ky.

Campbellsville University is a widely acclaimed Kentucky-based Christian university with more than 12,000 students offering over 100 programs of study including Ph.D., master, baccalaureate, associate, pre-professional and certification programs. The website for complete information is www.campbellsville.edu.

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