I am honored to be nominated to represent District 5 on the BEA Board of Directors. I thank those that nominated me for this important position.
INTRODUCTION
My name is Glenda Balas. I am Professor and Dean of Liberal Arts and Sciences at University of North Texas at Dallas. I also currently serve as Interim Provost. Over the years–working at DePauw, SHSU, and UNM–I have taught a number of media courses, including Media Criticism, Media & Society, Video Production, Visual Communication, International Media, Media Seminar, and Race, Class, and Gender. I received a Fulbright to study Public Broadcasting in Canada, and have taken students to Mexico, Canada, and Africa to create content and study media systems. I recently developed a new major in Communication and Technology at UNT Dallas, as well as a student radio station. We are looking forward to building out a Sports Communication program next year.
I’ve been a member of BEA since graduate school and have been presenting papers in Law and Policy, Public Broadcasting history, media aesthetics, and production pedagogy since the late 1990s. I served on the Publications Committee for six years and am currently a member of the Research Committee. Over the years, I have reviewed a number of papers and articles for BEA conferences and journals, and I served as Communication Director for the Research Division.
MY PRIORITIES
I spent more than a decade in Public Broadcasting before entering academia. If elected to represent District 5, I would work with PBS stations throughout the region to encourage collaboration in productions, meetings, and student training. I would seek ways for students to serve as interns in these stations and would work with academic departments to encourage capstone experiences and entry level employment for our students in public TV and NPR entities. District 5 is also home to some very strong state broadcasting associations. I believe it is important to cultivate relationships with stations and managers in these associations, helping students build networks that advance their careers throughout this region. As District 5 Representative, I would work with departments and Schools to build these relationships, encouraging commercial broadcasters to serve on university advisory councils and mentor students.
Since its inception, broadcasting has been poised to promote civil dialogue and useful information in the communities it serves. We need to be ever vigilant in protecting and advancing broadcasting’s role as an agent of the public sphere. If selected to serve on the Board of Directors, I would advocate for public conversations about media and the community. These conversations could become a part of the annual convention or bring people together in the District for thoughtful explorations of media’s obligations for public dialogue about common/diverse goals, needs, and values.
District 5 is filled up with creative academics who travel abroad with students, build new and dynamic programs and facilities, and create new pedagogical approaches to teaching media production. If chosen to serve on the BEA Board of Directors, I would actively promote the contributions of these individuals and their organizations at the national level. I would also bring these professionals together to showcase the work of their students and their own accomplishments in building programs and facilities. Our field continues to attract new teachers and media advisors who are looking for training and new ideas. Just as our colleagues in broadcasting serve as mentors to our students, so too can talented professors throughout the District share knowledge and strategies to junior faculty. I would actively seek to make these conversations occur through regional meetings, workshops, webinars, and Skype interactions.
BEA has been a vital part of my personal and professional life. I have particularly appreciated the many friends and colleagues I’ve met through this organization, and the ways these contacts have helped me grow as a teacher and media producer. I am very interested in working with others in District 5 and throughout the country to advance BEA and its contributions to the academic and professional pursuits of media in the U.S. and abroad.
