Journalism & Creative Media Faculty & Staff (Full-time)
Dr. Lee Farquhar is an associate professor of Journalism and Sports Media. In total, he has been teaching multimedia storytelling and sports media courses for over 10 years. His professional experience is primarily in radio and television broadcasting. He has also worked as a freelance videographer, shooting video for Kansas State University and MTV. His research combines social media and social psychological theories. He current research focuses on social media use and the impact on how users view themselves and others.
Michael Aronson joined The Compass Center as Jewish Life Advisor in April 2023 during a Future Faculty Teaching Fellowship year at Butler University’s College of Communication. Michael holds a master’s degree in Jewish Studies from Hebrew College in Newton Center, Massachusetts, and is working towards his doctorate in Media Studies at Indiana University-Bloomington. Michael serves the Jewish community at Butler by channeling his passions for living in community, Jewish learning, adult education and pluralism towards helping The Compass Center create an inclusive and loving environment for all people at Butler.
Gary Edgerton is professor of Creative Media and Entertainment in the Eugene S. Pulliam School of Journalism and Creative Media, College of Communication at Butler University. He has published twelve books and more than eighty-five essays on a wide assortment of media and culture topics in a variety of books, scholarly journals, and encyclopedias. In addition, Dr. Edgerton is the Co-Executive Editor of the Journal of Popular Film and Television. He was previously eminent scholar, professor, and chair of the Communication and Theatre Arts Department at Old Dominion University.
website: http://www.garyedgerton.com
Margaretha Geertsema-Sligh is a Professor of Journalism and Director of Graduate Studies in the College of Communication. Her textbook, “Journalism and Gender: Global Perspectives ,” with Routledge is set to be published on July 28, 2025.
She held the Richard M. Fairbanks endowed chair from 2018 to 2024 and served as Interim Dean from April 2021 to December 2022. Before her appointment as Interim Dean, Dr. Geertsema-Sligh served as Director of the Eugene S. Pulliam School of Journalism and Creative Media for five years. She joined Butler University in 2005 and has taught classes in news writing, gender and news, and global media.
Dr. Geertsema-Sligh holds a doctorate in Journalism from the University of Texas at Austin, a master’s degree in Communication from Washington State University, and a bachelor’s degree in Mass Communication from North-West University in South Africa. She is a past chair of the International Communication Division of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication and a past co-chair of the Gender and Communication section of the International Association for Media and Communication Research. Her research has been published in several leading academic journals. See www.margarethageertsemasligh.com for more information.
Eric Hahn is an assistant professor of Creative Media and Entertainment at Butler University. In addition to teaching, Eric works in film production and post-production, primarily as a colorist and editor. He has worked on multiple award-winning films, including Night School (Dir. Cohn, 2016), the 2021 SXSW Grand Jury Prize winner Lily Topples the World (Dir. Jeremy Workman), and the Academy Award shortlisted documentary Deciding Vote (Dir. Lyons & Workman, 2023). His research has appeared in The Journal of Popular Culture, Flow, The Routledge Handbook of Remix Studies, and In Media Res. Eric holds a PhD in Visual Studies from the University of California, Irvine, along with a BA and MA in Cinema Studies from SUNY Purchase and New York University respectively.
Mark Harris has been a staff member at Butler University for over 29 years. During that span, he has served as the Music Director for WAJC-FM, Operations Director for WTBU and most recently as the Technical Services Coordinator for the College of Communication, overseeing studios and facilities, camera checkout and major projects for the college and Fairbanks Center.
A Butler alum, Mark has a wide array of expertise ranging from radio and television broadcasting, audio production, video production, editing, audio mixing, studio and remote recording, and systems and studio design. Mark has a Masters of Science in Music Technology from IUPUI in Indianapolis and is an adjunct instructor in the Music Industry Studies program of the Department of Entertainment Media and Journalism. Mark has taught MI 109 Survey of the Music Industry, MI 201 Audio Production and MI 353 Audio for Video in addition to supervising audio lab experiences in remote recording for SJCM.
Nick White is a Lecturer, Professional of Practice in Sports Media and Journalism for the College of Communication. His courses both past and present include:
Current Courses:
SPM 405 – Sports Newsroom | JR 411 – Multimedia Newsroom | SPM 320 – Live Sports Production | JR 312 – Multimedia Journalism | SPM 130 – Sports Production Lab
Summer Courses:
SPM 335 – NIL in College Sports | SPM 101 – Introduction to Sports Media | JR 112 – Intro to Multimedia Journalism | JR 312 – Multimedia Journalism
Past Courses:
SPM 120 – Intro to Sports Production | SPM 220 – Sports Shooting and Editing
Also on campus Nick is the General Manager of Butler Sports Live . This production group services home broadcasts for Butler Atheltics including Football, Women’s Soccer, Men’s Soccer, Volleyball, Women’s Basketball, Baseball, Softball and Women’s Lacrosse for the Big East Digital Network . Nick is in charge of managing broadcasts, hiring crew and talent and overseeing productions. He hires both freelance broadcast professionals and current Butler students to the broadcast team.
Nick moved into education in 2017 after nearly a decade in sports and news broadcasting. Fittingly, his television broadcasting career started in Hinkle Fieldhouse with WISH-TV broadcasts of Butler Basketball games. He produced news in Austin, Texas with KXAN (NBC) where he won two TX AP Broadcasting Awards. He then worked in Chicago, Illinois with NBC 5 and won an Emmy Award with CBS 2 in 2014. He moved back to Indianapolis as Executive Producer for CBS 4 and relaunched the station as the CBS affiliate.
Nick holds a M.A. in Applied Communication and a B.S. in Sports Communication – Broadcast from Indiana University. He is a member of the Writers Guild of America – East and regularly serves as an Emmy Awards Judge for the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences and an award Judge for BEA.