About

I’m not an academic.

I’m a journalist who happens to work in academia.

I started my career as a photojournalist. I became a features writer and then a crime reporter. I took a buyout from the newspaper where I spent 12 years, became a professor, and kept doing journalism. I wrote long-form pieces and news columns, appeared on television every now and then, and then became a magazine publisher. I did lots of other fun stuff along the way.

I joined Temple University in the fall of 2006 and, over the next 12 years, taught a variety of undergraduate and graduate-level classes, including Journalism & Society, Philadelphia Neighborhoods and The Entrepreneurial Journalist. I served as the assistant department chair from 2015 through 2018.

In August 2018, I became the associate dean for academic affairs at Temple University’s Japan Campus. I oversaw the undergraduate and graduate programs, as well as the research office, the academic advising office, the library, Teaching & Learning Center, Disability Resources and Services office, the Institute for Contemporary Asian Studies and the registrar’s office.

At the Japan Campus, I taught Magazine Article Writing, Documentary Photography, a new Honors course called “The Future of Japan, the Future of the World,” and the internship/career class for the Master in Management graduate business program.

I left the Japan Campus in July 2021 to begin a year-long sabbatical (thank you, Temple University!).

I spent the year doing research on the relationships between Philadelphia universities and their surrounding residential communities, with the ultimate goal of creating a best-practices guideline for universities and developing a framework for community members to communicate with university leadership. Education is the pathway to success, and the mistrust that has existed for decades needs to be overcome so that we can all benefit from the relationships.

I also raised my son, Kenzo William Miller, who was born in August 2021.

I returned to the classroom for the fall 2022 semester, teaching sports photography, celebrity journalism and Philadelphia Neighborhoods (again). During the spring 2023 semester, I taught the second semester graduate reporting class and an Honors course called “The Power of Fame,” which was a media literacy class masked in reality television and pop stars. I was named the Honors Program Professor of the Year, a true honor.

During the summer of 2023, I transitioned to New York City, where I am the associate dean for academic affairs at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, my alma mater.

My primary duty is making sure students have the best possible learning experiences at one of the best journalism graduate schools in the world. I schedule classes and handle the budget and do all the other not-so-fun stuff that keeps the place running. But I also work with faculty, staff and students to make sure we are leading the industry and preparing our students to be future leaders in the journalism world.

I teach journalism entrepreneurship and innovation, journalism ethics, critical issues in journalism, and news products (focusing on underground arts coverage).

I run a lot of workshops, like this photo walking tour through Harlem (below).

I helped design the Policy Communication and Advocacy class at the Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs, and I’ve been teaching the class since the fall 2025 semester.

Random stuff: I taught multimedia journalism in Cagli, Italy during the summer from 2003 through 2006, then in Armagh, Northern Ireland in 2007, and in London, UK in 2010.

And my credentials?

I did my undergraduate studies at Loyola College (now Loyola University of Maryland). I did my first master’s degree at the Graduate School of Journalism at Columbia University and the second at the University of Pennsylvania. In 2022, I completed the doctoral program in higher education leadership and innovation at Wilmington University.