When Glen T. Cameron, Ph.D., founded the Health Communication Research Center at the Missouri School of Journalism in 2003, it was a small operation. There was one part-time staff member, several PhD students, and funding from two grants.
Today, the HCRC has expanded to house five full-time staff members, a stable of undergraduate and graduate students from journalism and other disciplines, and funding from 11 grants. With a solid base constructed, Cameron will step down as the Director of the HCRC as of January 3, 2012. He will remain with the Center, however, to focus his energies on obtaining grants and other funding as a Senior Investigator. Jon Stemmle, long-time HCRC Associate Director, will take over the operations of the HCRC.
“The growth in the Center has truly been astounding,” said Cameron. “While I saw the potential in the area of health communication, it’s been beyond my expectations. Jon has been a big part of that and has grown in his role to where it’s time to officially put him in charge. This move really frees me up from the day-to-day operations and allows me to spend more time as a hunter for grants and other funding opportunities for the HCRC and the School of Journalism.”
The move also allows Cameron to spend more time in his primary position as professor and the Maxine Wilson Gregory Chair in Journalism Research in the Missouri School of Journalism.
“At this point in my career I want to do what I can to help expand reach of the HCRC and the School of Journalism,” Cameron said. “Working with graduate students to publish research, establishing new partnerships in the U.S. and abroad, and finding other new funding and business opportunities are all ways to do that.”
The HCRC will add another new face in 2012 in Dr. Glen Nowak, senior advisor to Director, National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Nowak is the inaugural Mizzou Advantage Distinguished Scholar. During the 2012 calendar year, Nowak will assist the HCRC and the Missouri School of Journalism with collaboration and involvement in public health issues, share his expertise with University of Missouri students, faculty and staff, and provide his guidance and expertise to the HCRC as it moves forward.
“It’s very exciting to have Glen join us in 2012 as a Mizzou Advantage Distinguished Visitor,” said Cameron. “Provost Brian Foster and the J-School’s Charles Davis were really instrumental in making this happen. We’re already working with groups around campus to see how Glen might bring his experience and academic strengths to bear, be it a talk in a class or brainstorming about curriculum or funding.”
Nowak joins Shelly Rodgers, Ph.D., associate professor in Strategic Communication at the Missouri School of Journalism, who joined the HCRC as a research advisor in 2011.