Kenneth Ward

Dr. Ward's research focus is on journalism history, particularly the story of newspapering in Colorado and the American West. Ward's masters' thesis focused on political and sectional editorial issues in the small gold mining community of Cripple Creek, Colorado, at the turn into the twentieth century, and his dissertation explores the life and death of Denver's Rocky Mountain News. He has presented at numerous conferences, including regular appearances at the American Journalism Historians Association, which awarded him the 2013 Robert Lance Memorial Award for Outstanding Student Paper.

Teaching areas: Ward has taught a variety of theoretical and applied courses at Ohio University, Wichita State University and Bethel College, Kansas. These include: Mass Media Writing; Editing; Public Speaking; Introduction to Communication; Historical and Theoretical Issues in Communication; Gender, Race, Class, and Media; and a variety of marketing and production practicum courses. For his efforts, Ken received the 2015 Excellence in Teaching Award from the Midwestern Association of Graduate Schools.

Professional experience: Before beginning his graduate education, Ken wrote for a community newspaper, the McPherson Sentinel, in McPherson, Kansas. Before that, he produced live sporting events for 1410 KGSO in Wichita, Kansas and wrote as a freelancer.