Rutgers University Board of Governors Approves Promotions of Greenberg, Greene, Pavlik, and Venetis
The promotions will be effective July 1, 2025.
The Rutgers Board of Governors has announced the promotions of four Rutgers School of Communication and Information faculty members. Professors David Greenberg, Kathryn Greene, and John Pavlik have been promoted to Distinguished Professor, and Associate Professor Maria Venetis has been promoted to Professor. The promotions will be effective July 1, 2025.
In an email to the SC&I community, Dean Dafna Lemish said, “What a wonderful celebration for each of them individually, to their departments, and the school as a whole!
Congratulations, Kathryn, David, John, and Maria, on this special milestone in your careers.”
Professor of Journalism and Media Studies and of History
Promoted to Distinguished Professor of Journalism and Media Studies and of History
David Greenberg is a historian of American political and cultural history. He writes about history, politics, and media for a variety of scholarly and popular publications, and he is the author of the books “John Lewis: A Life” (2024); "Republic of Spin: An Inside History of the American Presidency" (2016); "Calvin Coolidge" (2006); and "Nixon’s Shadow: The History of an Image" (2003). He is a frequent commentator in the national news media on contemporary politics and public affairs.
Professor of Communication
Promoted to Distinguished Professor of Communication
Kathryn Greene's research program explores health decision-making related to various health risks or the central role of communication in preventing risk and maintaining health and wellness in individuals and populations. The two main thrusts of this research are: 1) increasing involvement in message processing and exploring prevention message features, especially targeting adolescent risk-taking; and 2) exploring how people choose to share or conceal health diagnoses, updates, or coordinate other information as they manage illness. Greene is a member of the Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey (CINJ) and holds a Joint Appointment with the Rutgers School of Public Health Department of Health Behavior, Society and Policy. She is also an Affiliate of the Rutgers Center for Tobacco Studies (CTS).
Professor of Journalism and Media Studies
Promoted to Distinguished Professor of Journalism and Media Studies
John V. Pavlik has researched and written widely on the impact of new technology on journalism, media and society. His books include “Disruption and Digital Journalism,” published in 2021 by Routledge, “Journalism in the Age of Virtual Reality, Converging Media”; “Media in the Digital Age”; and “Journalism and New Media and The People’s Right to Know.” He is co-developer of the Situated Documentary, a form of location-based storytelling using Augmented Reality and 360-degree video. He has served as a judge of the Emmy Awards for excellence in television news and documentaries for more than three decades. He is past chair of the editorial board for Television Quarterly, the journal of the National Academy for Television Arts and Sciences, which awards the Emmys. He is a former contributor to CNN.com, having written on the consequences of technological change for media and society. Pavlik has also authored more than a dozen computer software packages for education in journalism and communication, including newsroom reporting programs "Fire!", "Fatal!," and "NewsSim." In 2013, while on leave from Rutgers, he served as the inaugural Associate Dean for Research for Northwestern University in Qatar, where he continues to conduct funded research on emerging media.
Associate Professor of Communication
Promoted to Professor of Communication
Venetis’ research interests lie at the intersection of interpersonal and health communication; her research examines how individuals talk about health and the outcomes of these conversations. She examines patient-provider interactions and communicative practices within medical visits such as the connection between patient and companion question asking and stating of psychosocial outcomes such as satisfaction and adherence. Other work identifies specific patient disclosure strategies when sharing this medically relevant, non-visible, and potentially stigmatizing information. Venetis also studies how relational partners manage ongoing communication concerning cancer and other non-visible health conditions. Recent research includes communicative behaviors that promote resilience among relational partners and supportive communication during cancer care.
Learn more about the Department of Journalism and Media Studies, Rutgers School of Communication and Information (SC&I), on the website.