The Rutgers School of Communication and Information (SC&I) is pleased to welcome Professor Amy Jordan to the faculty. Jordan, an internationally-acclaimed research scholar and teacher, served most recently as Associate Dean for Undergraduate Studies and Adjunct Full Professor at the Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Pleased to join SC&I’s faculty, Jordan said, “SC&I has a number of people working in the same area as I do, with a focus on youth and media.  It will be wonderful to be in the same space as like-minded scholars, collaborating with them and learning from them.”

“The Dean of SC&I is creating an identity for the school as one that cares about youth and families. SC&I is building strength and visibility of the scholarship at Rutgers in this field, which I hope is a draw for masters and Ph.D. students.”

Jordan’s research focuses on the role of media in the lives of children and adolescents.  Her studies have examined the impact of public policy mandates on the landscape of children’s television, the use of public television materials in low-income, preschool classrooms, the effect of exposure to sexual media content on adolescent sexual risk taking, and the impact of a media campaign on parent’s and children’s sugar-sweetened beverage consumption. 

Jordan’s current interests are 1) understanding whether the role of media technology in children’s health and well-being, such as sleep in the adolescent years; and, 2) creating media messages that encourage healthier lifestyles, such as reducing the use of indoor tanning beds by young women; and 3), though her role as a trustee with Sesame Workshop, understanding the opportunities that mobile media present for educating and connecting children in vulnerable circumstances (such as refugees).

Dean Jonathan Potter said, "I am delighted to welcome Amy Jordan to the School.  Her achievements as a scholar and teacher are outstanding." 

Jordan looks forward to collaborating with a group of scholars at SC&I who also focus on the intersection of media, children and families. A few of these faculty members include Associate Professor of Communication Vikki Katz, Assistant Professor of Communication Jeffrey Lane, Associate Dean for Programs and Professor of Journalism and Media Studies Dafna Lemish, and Associate Professor of Journalism and Media Studies Regina Marchi, as well as others.

Jordan and Lemish are co-editors of the Journal of Children and Media, published by Taylor & Francis, so Jordan’s arrival at SC&I as a professor brings this collaboration closer.

A few of Jordan’s recent publications include:

Lemish, D., Jordan, A., & Rideout, V. (Eds.) (2017). “Children, Adolescents, and Media: The Future of Research and Action.” NY: Routledge.

Jordan, A. (2017). “Growing up Online: Media Use and Development in Early Adolescence.” In Vorderer, P., Hefner, D., Reinecke, L., & Klimmt, C. (Eds.) “Permanently Online, Permanently Connected.” London, England: Taylor & Francis.

Vaala, S. & Jordan, A. (2017). “Children’s Learning in a Mobile Media Environment: Policies, Practices, and Possibilities.” In Blumberg, F. & Brooks, P. (Eds.) “Cognitive Development in Digital Contexts.” NY: Elsevier Press.

Jordan is currently working on a major research project through the University of Pennsylvania Prevention Research Center, titled:

Reducing UV Exposure to Prevent Skin Cancer: Message Development and Testing (2014-2017). (Role: Co-Principal Investigator with Karen Glanz, Ph.D.)  Three year, $1.5 million grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to conduct research that advances knowledge about the correlates of sun protection among 18- 49-year-olds in order to inform the development and testing of messages and communication strategies for two categories of skin cancer risk behaviors: indoor tanning and outdoor sun exposure.

Several of Jordan’s most recent awards include being named a Fellow of the International Communication Association (2017). She was elected Fellow at the International Communication Association’s Annual Meeting in San Diego, California. She also received a Senior Scholar Award in 2016, which was presented by the Children, Adolescents, and Media Division of the International Communication Association at the Annual Meeting in Fukuoka, Japan.

Jordan serves as a member of the Board of Directors at Sesame Workshop in New York City.

Jordan received a bachelor’s degree from Muhlenberg College in Communication Studies, and a masters and Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania.