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Meet the Professor
Anthony R. Curtis, Ph.D. Professor, Department of Mass Communication Director, UNCP in Second Life Campus University of North Carolina at Pembroke Office: 247 Old Main, Pembroke, NC 28372 Office phone: (910) 521-6616 Dept office: (910) 522-5723 Fax: (910) 522-5795 E-mail: acurtis@uncp.edu Education:
I am Professor in the Department of Mass Communication and chair of the Faculty Senate. I teach and advise students in the department's journalism, public relations and broadcasting tracks. Teaching: Having taught some 6,000 students at Penn State, Ohio University, Salisbury University, Hood College, Union Institute & University, Frederick Community College, WorWic Community College, and now UNCP in the University of North Carolina system, I have a deep commitment to student-centered education and serving the needs of students. I enjoy working with students in and out of the classroom and advising individuals and student groups. I received UNCP's Outstanding Teaching Award in 2012. UNCP's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee gave me their Most Valuable Professor (MVP) award in 2912. Previously, students at Salisbury State, an institution in the University of Maryland System, honored me with the Outstanding Academic Advisor Award. I also was nominated for the Distinguished Faculty Award at Salisbury. At Hood College, students in Mortar Board nominated me for the college-wide Excellence In Teaching Award. I received an Outstanding Program Award from Ohio University's College of Communication. I am listed annually in Who's Who Among America's Teachers from student nominations at UNCP and UI&U. I also am listed in the national and international editions of Marquis Who's Who. Media: I have broad experience in New Media and traditional media, such as newspapers, magazines, books, broadcasting, public relations and advertising as well as virtual reality worlds, Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, blogs and other communication systems on the Internet. I received the Outstanding Program Award from Ohio University's College of Communication. I have constructed three extensive traditional web sites, including Space Today Online. Journalism: I am a professional writer, editor, publisher, producer, director, 3-D builder, and media manager with extensive experience in broadcast, newspapers, magazines, books, newsletters, public relations, advertising, websites, social networks and online virtual environments. I have been a general assignment and special assignment newspaper reporter, regional and wire service correspondent, managing editor, editor and publisher. I have written hundreds of articles for magazines and newspapers, including such titles as Discover, Popular Mechanics, Popular Electronics, Smithsonian Air & Space, Omni, and even the former USSR Academy of Sciences journal. I have been technology columnist for the American Association of University Administrators newsletter and an article reviewer for the refereed journal Quest, The History of Spaceflight Quarterly. I continue to practice as a magazine feature writer as well as online columnist. Publications: I have authored 72 books and hundreds of newspaper and magazine articles. Those books have been about a variety of topics including computers, communications, space science and astronomy, and health. My Space Almanac was chosen Outstanding Academic Book by the American Library Association. That book and my Space Satellite Handbook, my Outer Space Frequency Directory, and other titles have been in many libraries. Several titles have been national bestsellers. My multimedia CD-ROM electronic book, Space: A Visual History of Manned Spaceflight, incorporates 100 videos with my text. Thirteen of my articles will be published in July 2010 in the two-volume Space Exploration and Humanity: A Historical Encyclopedia. I founded and edit Space Today Online at www.spacetoday.org – one of only twelve private Internet publications granted a link from NASA's hotlist page. I am known as a space policy analyst asked regularly by media to analyze events. For instance, in 2009, I was a guest panelist on the show Global Journalist on "The Future of Space Exploration and International Cooperation" on the University of Missouri-Columbia public radio station. Public relations: I was press secretary and speechwriter for the Governor of Pennsylvania at Harrisburg, and public relations director for the Pennsylvania portion of a national U.S. Presidential election campaign. I was employed by the public relations office at Pennsylvania State University and volunteered public relations services for Colonial Williamsburg Foundation in Virginia, where I did voice-over narration of video history documentaries. Broadcasting: At commercial broadcast stations in Ohio, West Virginia and Pennsylvania, I held on-air and management positions, working as operations director, program director, producer, director, news reporter, news director, videographer, sound person, narrator, program announcer and talent-personality. I was a television and radio producer for Ohio University's public stations WOUB TV/FM/AM where I produced and directed television and radio documentaries while simultaneously instructing College of Communication students in TV and radio documentary and dramatic program and public affairs program production. I helped Salisbury State University students start their SSU-TV station. Photography: My photography has been published in numerous periodical and book media and won ribbon awards in juried exhibitions. I was photography editor for Popular Mechanics magazine in New York City. I have taught Photojournalism at UNCP for ten years. Computer-mediated communication: I have a national reputation as an innovator in academic information engineering, online education, and global computer-mediated mass communication. I have been delivering courses online since 1997. I am skilled in creating multidimensional learning environments on the Web. I have constructed three 3,000-page Web sites from scratch – Salisbury State University, Union Institute & University, and Space Today Online. I am accomplished in blogging, podcasting, social networking, and virtual worlds.
My experience includes building and scripting in 3-D virtual-reality worlds, principally the Second Life environment where I have constructed an 88,000 square meter public park and two generations of in-world campuses for UNCP, which include some 50 buildings and outdoor learning spaces. I have been active in Second Life education, political journalism and social networks. My photos from the real world as well as from Second Life are displayed at several in-world galleries. One of my blogs, Second Edition, describes the passing scene and traces the society, culture, politics and economics of Second Life. With it, I examine the emerging society with millions of residents displaying personalities, spawning controversies, and generating innovations. Together, they have cultural identity, social norms and a loose-knit global organization. As in real life, cultural expression is of the utmost importance to the residents of Second Life. My blog reports on the intertwining of the lives of people, both public and private. Management: I have extensive academic administration experience and business management experience, including Executive Assistant to the President, and Chief of Staff, Office of the President, at the Union Institute & University, where I also held the posts of Director of the Center for Strategic Planning, Dean for Academic Information Services, Webmaster, and Professor in the Center for Distance Learning. I was Director of the Maryland Summer Center for the Arts at Salisbury State University. I was Chair of the Department of Mass Communication at UNCP. I have been a member of several academic re-accreditation and licensure committees for the colleges and universities where I have served, including at UNCP. I was vice president and director of editorial for Tab Books, now a division of McGraw-Hill, where I supervised 175 creative persons in-house, 600 authors, a $10-million budget, and production of 150 new titles a year. Then with Dr. Judy Curtis, I founded ARCsoft Publishers, which produced national bestselling books with global sales. I served as an editor for Popular Mechanics magazine and then founded Modern Electronics magazine, creating a staff of editors, authors and artists. Honors:
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