The English Department is pleased to welcome distinguished alum Rich Jones back to UD, where he will teach courses in digital journalism.
This Summer, Jones will be teaching the journalism minor's gateway course, JOUR 301 "Introduction to Journalism" (1:15-2:45pm during Second Summer Session). In the Fall, Jones will teach ENGL 307 "News Writing and Editing" and ENGL 409 "Digital Journalism," a hands-on and conceptual course designed to help students develop introductory-level skills in multimedia reporting (using text, still images and audio).
"Professor Jones will be a terrific addition to the journalism faculty and help move the program forward," said Dawn Fallik, director of the Journalism minor. "Students are eager to learn practical and professional new media skills and he will fit that need perfectly."
Jones is no stranger to the classroom. He most recently worked at Rutgers University where he taught digital journalism and helped lead a collaboration between students in the School of Communication and Information and NewJerseyNewsroom.com. Before that, Jones was a visiting assistant professor at NYU.
A former editor in chief of The Review, Jones graduated from UD in 1993. During his tenure, The Review earned a five-star All-American rating from the Associated Collegiate Press and a national Pacemaker award – widely regarded as the highest honor in college journalism.
Jones joined The Philadelphia Inquirer after graduating from UD, where he wrote a daily metro column, covered public schools and held a three-year posting as a national correspondent based in Atlanta.
During a seven year stint at The New York Times, Jones covered politics, the New Jersey legislature, and the National Football League. He served as the inaugural editor of "The Local East Village," a hyperlocal news blog of The New York Times produced in collaboration with the Carter Journalism Institute at New York University. He and a colleague were nominated for a Pulitzer Prize for their investigation into the failings of New Jersey's child welfare agency.
Jones holds a M.S. from Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism, where he was awarded a Knight-Bagehot Fellowship. He is currently a Ph.D. candidate and a Scripps Howard Doctoral Fellow at the Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland.