Bartzen Culver, Kathleen

Kathleen Culver joined the School of Journalism & Mass Communication in 1999 to help launch an innovative converged curriculum to prepare students for a changing media landscape. When Culver was advised early on that she was “preparing students for jobs that may not even exist yet,” she scarcely had a clue how quickly and massively the ground would shift.

Culver credits her diverse professional background, spanning from police reporter to magazine editor to marketing manager, in helping her develop courses to make students adaptable writers and critical thinkers.

Her broad variety of academic experience and training includes a doctorate in mass communication with an emphasis in media law. Culver specializes in access to information, media ethics and digital media, especially social tools.

She is currently studying the ethical implications of data, sensors and drones in journalism and emerging ethics in online commenting. Culver serves as education curator for MediaShift, where she helps advance innovation in journalism curricula and courses, and a visiting faculty member for the Poynter Institute for Media Studies.