If you’re here to see the best professors in the MJ School, scroll to the bottom! Otherwise, settle in for a rant.
A frustrating story that’s sadly not unique
A friend of mine recently vented to me about a class as we walked down Franklin Street. Five minutes in, I was yelling with her in solidarity.
She said that many of the people in her class had done poorly an exam. This is not that unusual; she’s a biomedical engineering major in an upper-level class. There’s bound to be an impossible test or two.
What’s unusual is that her professor didn’t seem to care enough to determine what went wrong. On my friend’s test, he penalized her for a correct answer because she had used a more advanced method than the one he had taught. When she went to ask him about it, he was rigid and refused to see sense.
It is this kind of stubborn pride that makes for an ineffective educator. This story gave me war flashbacks to high school.
My first AP class: Big Miss Steak
As a 14-year-old sophomore, against the advice of literally everyone, I foolishly decided to take a science AP course. It was the second toughest class in the school, in a subject that wasn’t necessarily my strong suit. It was also my first AP.
I almost failed the class, the first semester. I tried to drop it a few weeks in, to no avail—the only way out was through.
The teacher was my first introduction to the world of educators who don’t care whether their students succeed or fail. These kinds of educators almost seem vindicated when their students do poorly; it’s as if the challenging nature of their class makes them superior to those whose students breeze through.
There’s a strong chance the teacher didn’t actually feel proud that idiot children like me were struggling to pass her class (I’m just kidding; I was only kind of an idiot). But that’s the impression she gave. She didn’t seem to have empathy for those who were struggling, and she did not give off welcoming vibes. I was too afraid to go to her for extra help.
I cried at least once a week over that class. I managed to pass it, but only just. Second semester, I did far better with the help of a tutor. The teacher was so ineffective, I had to hire a second one.
If many people fail, that’s a reflection of the professor, not the students
I recognize that certain subjects are difficult to teach. But teaching is what professors are paid to do. It’s their job to help students succeed. Teachers that don’t accomplish this base requirement fail to meet the standards they commit to when they take the job.
Of course there are students who don’t put in the effort needed to learn properly and pass, and there is only so much professors can do in these cases. But when mass failure occurs, it is an opportunity for professors to determine why and adjust their teaching methods accordingly.
Fortunately, I haven’t had many bad teachers who avoid educational . Professors at the UNC School of Media and Journalism are almost always excellent. Many of them actively care not only about students’ academic success, but also their general wellbeing.
I’ve also been more careful since high school, and I always ask older friends now about classes in advance to find out whether they’re worth taking. I don’t avoid tough professors—in fact, quite the opposite. I’ve deliberately taken classes from some of the most difficult in the school (V.K. Fields, for example), but only when I know they are strong educators driven by the desire to help students improve their abilities.
This is what makes for an amazing professor. It’s partially the ability to convey expertise in a comprehensible way, but it’s also caring enough to do so. To end this on a positive note, here’s are the most wonderful professors I’ve ever had, all of them at the MJ School:
The absolute best professors
V.K. Fields
V.K. is the most badass woman I’ve ever met, aside from my mom and Ursula Mead. She runs her own PR agency. When I first heard about her intense teaching style, I immediately decided to take her PR writing class. I knew when she made us write a press release the first day and gave mine a low C that her class would mold me into a stronger PR professional, and I was right. It really enhanced my AP Style fluency and quick writing skills.
Now, I’m in her crisis communication course. She makes us defend the indefensible with clients like the Roman Catholic Church, Juul, R. Kelly, and more. It’s often uncomfortable, but it’s a character-building discomfort. The class makes me think critically on my feet, problem-solve, and brush up on my public speaking skills. I love and hate it simultaneously (will probably love it fully once it’s over).
Joe Cabosky
I don’t think there’s anyone who takes a class from Joe and doesn’t love him. I took PR Case Studies with him, and while I can’t say I loved all of it (the midterm and final papers were miserable, coming from someone who usually enjoys writing), it was more than worth it to take a class with him. He is such a funny, kind, and helpful man.
In his class, he provided valuable insights on the role of PR in the world and the specific cases we covered. And the discussion-based setup made the cases all the more interesting. It’s clear how much he cares about setting students up for success; he gave a whole lecture full of fear-alleviating advice for the future. He made it clear we were welcome to come to him at office hours and talk whenever we wanted. What a mensch.
Lois Boynton
Dr. B is one of my favorite people! She has a truly wacky personality with socks to match. She’s the adviser of Crash Campaign and Carolina PRSSA, so I’ve gotten to hang out with her quite a bit thanks to leadership positions in both. I also took Media Ethics with her, and it was much more fun than I expected.
Dr. B has a way of breathing life into boring topics. Her wit and love of pop culture make ethics more interesting. I was grateful for this, as the class took place during my afternoon slump. She clearly cares about her students learning, and she’s let me lurk in her office and complain several times. She is absolutely awesome.
Marshele Carter
Marshele is such a warm, welcoming lady. She has a lot of experience in the nonprofit PR sector that’s widely applicable. I took Cause Communications with her, and it was both overwhelming and wonderful.
She provided my class the opportunity to plan, promote, and execute a PR workshop event from scratch. We hosted many local nonprofits and taught workshops on various PR topics. I designed a resource toolkit for my team’s workshop, which focused on visual communication. The event was unforgettable! Marshele took a bunch of us out for lunch after, and it was so much fun to get to chat with her. I highly recommend taking one of her classes.
Eric Ferkenhoff
In my first semester at UNC, I took Writing and Reporting with Ferk, and it was a great introduction to the MJ School. It was hard work, but he was understanding and flexible with deadlines while passing on his knowledge.
In this course, which started a couple months before the #MeToo Movement, we covered sexual assault and sex trafficking. Writing deep dives on such sensitive, prevalent issues was incredible, despite how difficult it was emotionally. And Ferk, knowing we all could use portfolio boosts, published our work on his site, the Youth Project (currently under maintenance). I will always appreciate the opportunities he provided.
Livis Freeman
Livis is remarkably easygoing, friendly, fun, and knowledgeable. His passion for strong PR really translates in his teaching, and his experience running his own athletic agency makes him uniquely qualified to teach PR Campaigns classes. He provides students with the tools they need to succeed and has some crazy connections, many of which he uses to directly benefit students.
For instance, I’m taking one of these classes right now, and our client is Nike’s Jordan Brand. We have the chance to build a whole campaign for its new women’s line, and Michael Jordan’s mom might even be coming to our pitch competition. I’m not even all that into sports (Tar Heel blasphemy), but it’s still blowing my mind.
Gary Kayye
Gary Kayye is the antithesis of the Bad Professors I just went off about. He’s one of the top-rated ones at UNC on RateMyProfessor. He is genuine and actively invested in students’ success and makes class engaging with meditation, entertaining videos, and more.
His class, The Branding of Me, sets students up for success with digital self-branding. I’ve daydreamed about starting a blog, but I never would’ve put in the time each week to post without this class. He offers useful advice and makes us all feel much more confident about graduating and entering the workforce. Everyone who can take the Branding of Me absolutely should—just don’t forget to take the prerequisite, New Media Tech. To miss out on this course would be an even bigger mistake than my enrollment in that horrid AP class.