Introducing the New Generation of C&IS Leaders
We asked the members of the Dean’s Executive Council to speak about the places and positions that led them here, their interests outside of work, and their visions for the future of their departments. C&IS leaders are not only accomplished academics, but animal lovers and travel buffs. Their work experience ranges from nonprofits to sports reporting and crisis communication.
Learn more about them and their visions for the future of C&IS in these profiles.
Chair, Department of Journalism & Creative Media
Dr. Michael Bruce
Michael Bruce, Ph.D., has been named the new department chair of Journalism and Creative Media. Bruce comes from a varied background of industry work, ranging from public television to the United States Postal Service and managing studios and teaching. A chance opportunity led him to sports broadcasting, and that has been his passion ever since.
“A friend of mine was involved in local and regional sports production, televising sporting events. He had asked me to come to a game on New Year's Day because he didn't want to do it,” said Bruce.
People were impressed with his performance, and that sparked another career change, leading Bruce to freelance in live remote sports production for 11 years before coming to The University of Alabama.
Outside of work, Bruce stays busy with home projects, community involvement, and family.
“My wife and I go out to concerts and are really involved in church,” said Bruce. “We also love to travel when we get a chance.” Bruce said he enjoys blending his interests, such as combining photography and travel by hiking and climbing to get the best possible angle for a shot of the landscape.
As department chair, Bruce plans to help faculty increase the department’s research and creative profile, with sights set on becoming a national leader in media training for C&IS students through increased collaboration with the Digital Media Center.
Leadership Is… “Figuring out where people want to go, figuring out what it's going to take to get there, and then holding their hand through that process and working together to get there.”
“The JCM department has grown and shined since the merger of the former Journalism and Telecommunication & Film departments seven years ago,” Bruce said. “Now we have the opportunity to push the department into emerging areas of mediated communication, entertainment and information sharing.”
Chair, Department of Advertising and Public Relations
Dr. Brooke McKeever
Brooke McKeever, Ph.D., joined C&IS as department chair of Advertising and Public Relations, guiding the department through the next era of its development.
McKeever started at a public relations agency in Chicago before moving into the nonprofit sector to work for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, first in Chicago and later opening a new office for the organization in Pittsburgh.
“I started thinking, ‘what means something to me?’ and ‘where do I want to spend my time?’ That was when I started connecting the dots,” McKeever said. “I started seeing this thread through my life, when I was happiest was when I was doing something that meant something to me.” Working for nonprofit organizations and in higher education have provided meaning.
McKeever went on to get her Ph.D. and move into education, working at the University of South Carolina for 12 years before joining the C&IS leadership team this year.
Outside of work, McKeever enjoys spending time with her family and their dog, traveling and being outside, visiting art museums, reading, and watching movies. Her love of film led her to take on a six-week freelance job for the Chicago International Film Festival before she started graduate school.
“It was me and one other guy who did PR for the whole film festival,” McKeever recalled. “Through that we got to see a lot of great movies and meet a lot of stars because they came to Chicago for the premiere of the films.”
Leadership is… “Service. It’s providing direction, support and whatever else is needed to build upon the solid foundation that is already here at UA, in the college, and in the A+PR Department."
McKeever looks to support the work already being done within the A+PR department and help it gain more national and global attention.
“I would like to help the department maintain and raise its profile on campus, nationally and internationally,” McKeever said. “My vision for my position is to support the faculty, staff and students in the Department of Advertising & Public Relations, to amplify and elevate the great work that is already being done here.”
Director, School of Library and Information Studies
Dr. Jamie Naidoo
Jamie Naidoo, Ph.D., has been named the director of the School of Library and Information Studies (SLIS) after serving as interim director since October 2021. His role will be to oversee the school through the growth it has planned for the next few years.
Early in life, Naidoo wanted to be involved in education, following in the steps of an aunt and an influential school librarian before choosing between these fields for himself.
While completing his master’s degree in library and information studies at UA, Naidoo worked at the Tuscaloosa Public Library as the youth services coordinator. After graduate school, he worked in the Birmingham area as an elementary school librarian and at the Hoover Public Library. Starting his Ph.D. work in 2003 changed his trajectory from library practitioner to library educator and researcher.
“Initially, I started the Ph.D. program for a pay raise, not because I wanted to become a professor,” Naidoo said. “But once I got into my coursework, I enjoyed the research. I thought, maybe I could get paid to do the research I enjoy and teach students who want to do the things that I've loved doing.”
Outside of work, Naidoo spends his time traveling, often to Palm Springs, California, where he has a second home.
“We love it out in the desert, surrounded by mountains. We spend our time hiking or taking day trips out to L.A. or San Diego,” Naidoo said. “The landscape is amazing.”
Naidoo plans for booming growth while he serves in his new role. SLIS is launching four new programs, including a youth services graduate certificate, an undergraduate major, and two minors. SLIS will also be moving into their newly renovated space in the McLure Library in Summer 2025, finally leaving the top floor of Gorgas Library after 50 years.
Leadership Is… “A puzzle. It's putting the right people in the right places and supporting them to be successful at what they do. A good leader also understands that sometimes what's best for the person isn't always best for the organization, but you support what's best for the person.”
Associate Dean for Faculty
Dr. Andrew Billings
Andrew Billings, Ph.D., is the new associate dean for faculty in C&IS. In this newly created position, he will support faculty development, promotion and work life throughout C&IS. Billings has spent 25 years as a professor, the last 13 of which have been at The University of Alabama.
“Both sides of [my wife’s and my] families come from an educational and teaching background,” Billings said. “This is in our DNA. This is what we've always wanted to do.”
Billings has seen C&IS go through many changes, evolving naturally as the world of communication also evolves. He started in the Telecommunication and Film Department, which has since merged with Journalism to become the Journalism and Creative Media department.
Billings’ interest lies in the space where a sports story is no longer about sports, but instead about identity, control or politics. When asked what sets sports apart from other forms of entertainment, Billings said, “Sports are live. Sports are in the moment. They really matter one day, and they're gone the next. And that's the appeal.”
In his new role as associate dean for faculty, Billings’ focus is largely centered on the community and collegiality that faculty build while working at C&IS.
Leadership is… “a whole lot of coaching, mentoring, and the openness to be wrong. It is separating the signal from the noise to diagnose a problem in a manner that the solution makes sense.”
“The goal in my office is to make Alabama a place where faculty find satisfaction, purpose and enjoyment through their jobs,” Billings said. “I’d like people to find UA is not merely where they work, but a place that has unique qualities in which they can build a career and a life.”
Billings said he intends for every aspect of his position to reflect the values of belonging and purpose for faculty members.
Associate Dean for Research, Scholarship and Creative Activity
Dr. Rebecca Britt
Rebecca Britt, Ph.D., is the new associate dean for research, scholarship and creative activity for C&IS. In this role, she will advance the college’s research profile and support grant submission efforts to help faculty and graduate students produce more research and scholarship.
Britt describes herself and her research team as “internet archeologists,” sifting through data to pull relevant information in health communication. One of her federally funded projects promoted living kidney donation among Native American communities through a social media campaign based on her research findings.
“That was a real highlight—doing the work and having conversations with community members was critically important,” Britt said. “It was a moment where I could see the impact that [social media] work can have on people.”
When she is not at work, Britt enjoys painting, video games, board games, watching anime and spending time with her two rescue cats.
“I love the storytelling,” Britt said of her interest in video games. “I play a lot of roleplaying games, and really enjoy the story behind them.” Her love for stories and seeing the pieces fall together shows in her passion for story-driven media.
Looking to the future, Britt is planning initiatives to improve the research and creative culture of C&IS and that contribute to ongoing research excellence.
“My vision is to help lead the faculty into a new era of celebrating faculty excellence and research impact,” Britt said. “This involves enhancing research efforts, promoting mechanisms for research fund solicitation, fostering a culture of scholarly and creative excellence, and encouraging multidisciplinary collaboration.”
Leadership Is… “Collaboration. I view my position as being a servant leader to others. The work is important work, putting the needs of the faculty first, and working together to serve others in the college.”
Her goal to support grants will lead to increased external grant submissions and opportunities for faculty. She is also eager to connect C&IS with larger, university-wide initiatives supporting collaborative research.
Associate Dean for Graduate Studies
Dr. William Evans
William Evans, Ph.D., is the associate dean for graduate studies, leading the restructuring of C&IS’s PhD program, student recruitment, and development of graduate programs within C&IS.
While Evans is not new to C&IS leadership, this position was reimagined during the leadership restructuring across the college. He has served in multiple administrative and leadership positions over more than 30 years working in academia, all of which he has found rewarding.
“I've been an institute director, a center director, laboratory director, an interim department chair, and for the last seven years, the associate dean for graduate studies,” Evans said.
Outside of work, Evans is an avid music collector with an extensive, eclectic collection of records and LPs from record stores across the country.
“The staff of the Princeton Record Exchange in New Jersey believe I still live nearby, because I go by there frequently,” he said.
Looking to the future, Evans hopes to not just keep pace with peer institutions, but to surpass them. His goals center on attracting more outstanding graduate students and assisting them in advancing their career goals, providing them with multiple forms of support.
“My vision is that C&IS graduate programs continue to innovate and advance their already strong reputations nationally and internationally,” he said.
Leadership Is…“Empowering people to meet the challenges of having responsibilities, encouraging them to aspire to greater challenges, and helping them meet those challenges. It’s also understanding what we need to have in place structurally within the college to support faculty and staff.”
Associate Dean for Communication & Advancement
Dr. J. Suzanne Horsley
J. Suzanne Horsley, Ph.D., is the new associate dean for Communication & Advancement. She helms a new department composed of team members who support the college through strategic communications in a variety of forms. This reflects her experience early on in her career through to the research and teaching she does today.
“This has been a full-circle moment for me in my career, where I can pull together all the things I enjoy into one package,” Horsley said. “University media relations at [Virginia Commonwealth University], the research that I've been doing in public relations and crisis communication, and the teaching I do in PR…I'm enjoying that opportunity to combine all those things together and work on a team again.”
Outside of work, Horsley takes an interest in animal welfare, providing homes through either fostering or adopting small dogs, especially those that may be overlooked.
Horsley said, “I tend to adopt the ones that are a little bit older or have some health issues or special needs. I like knowing that I can give them everything they need in their final years.”
She also enjoys traveling, with her newest interest being cruises.
“I did a two-week cruise in Alaska a year ago, and it was magical,” Horsley said. “I’m kicking myself for waiting so long to go. I want to go back while I’m young enough to do things, because there’s so much to see and do there.”
Horsley envisions the Communication & Advancement unit as the herald of C&IS, elevating the national reputation of the college and telling the story of the students, faculty and staff that make up C&IS. Her goal is to make audiences understand the importance of the work we do, and to send out a definitive image of who C&IS is.
“You know, you have to know who you are before you tell somebody else,” Horsley said. “That is the biggest step.”
Leadership Is… “Supporting the team that you're working with and helping them reach their potential. And the only way I can do that is if I'm learning as we go, because I don't have all the answers.”
Associate Dean for Undergraduate Studies
Dr. Steven Yates
As the new associate dean for Undergraduate Studies in C&IS, Steven Yates, Ph.D., oversees all areas of the undergraduate experience from recruitment to graduation. He takes pride in the scholastic journeys of all and seeks to inspire success in students at The Capstone.
In his new role, Yates’ vision includes developing team partnerships with academic divisions to increase student/advisor interactions and implementing fresh approaches to building student community.
Leadership is… “Inspiring a shared vision to achieve a common goal. Here, the common goal we're all united in is providing educational opportunities to our students.”
“From strengthening our recruiting partnership with UA admissions to expanding industry engagement opportunities on campus and across the world, our student engagement efforts will continue to build on our incredible network of alumni and industry partners,” Yates said.
Yates attributes his personal success in part to his father’s belief in the power of education and his parents’ desire to see him become a first-generation college graduate.
“My dad always said that education is one thing that people can’t take away from you,” Yates recalled.
After completing his first graduate degree, Yates discovered a joy for teaching while working as an instructor for public speaking classes at Shelton State Community College.
“It was that experience that helped me realize what I wanted from my life,” he said. “I wanted to contribute and support the educational journeys of others.” Yates then went on to complete his Ph.D. in Communication and Information Sciences.
Yates’ desire to embrace the journey is evident in his roles in the performing arts. As a frequent volunteer in Tuscaloosa community theater, he is active on stage and behind the scenes.
“The group work makes the whole project better than the sum of the parts,” he said. “That is something I enjoy both personally and professionally.”
Curious to read more about leadership?
We asked members of the C&IS community what leadership books they have on their shelves. See what they recommended and add your favorites.
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