Creating inclusive design has risen to the forefront of conversation in advertising and other fields, and the timing couldn’t be better for Tombras School of Advertising and Public Relations master’s alumnus Josh Loebner (’99). Loebner recently landed a role he calls a dream job: global head of inclusive design for international marketing communications agency Wunderman Thompson. It’s a position he has worked towards for the past 23 years by developing skills and interests at various jobs, as well as by attaining his PhD in rhetoric, communication, and information design from Clemson University. 

Loebner’s initial route to advertising was, as … Read more “ADPR Alumnus Loebner Hired as Global Head of Inclusive Design at Wunderman Thompson”

Melanie Faizer, senior lecturer for the School of Journalism and Electronic Media, said teaching is not her first career but it is the one that suits her the most. So it is fitting that, after a decade of lecturing for JEM, she was recently given the Alumni Outstanding Teacher Award by the University of Tennessee Alumni Association. She is among a handful recipients across the University of Tennessee System who received such an award, which is given based on nominations from faculty and staff, alumni, and students.

“It’s really nice to get an award like this, at this time, … Read more “Faizer Given Alumni Outstanding Teacher Award”

“The need for systemic transformation in higher education requires a change in
mindset from the traditional approach to teaching and learning, to an inclusive and universally accessible one. How do we get there?” asked Kevin Mallary (’22), who recently earned his PhD from the College of Communication and Information by successfully defending a dissertation that asked this very question.

Mallary’s dissertation, “Investigating Higher Education Institutions’ Influence on the Everyday Information Practices of Students with Autism,” recently earned him the inaugural Commission for Disability Graduate Student Award; the award is given to someone who is a “champion for support … Read more “PhD Alum Aims to Change Academia’s Approach to Inclusive, Accessible Learning”