University of New Mexico
Department of Communication & Journalism
UNM Lobo  
Glenda R. Balas, Ph.D.
 Ph.D., University of Iowa, 1999
 M.B.A., Eastern New Mexico University, 1989
 Office: Room 129E/206, 505-277-1905
 gbalas@unm.edu
Associate Professor 
C&J Chair 
Communication 
Journalism 

Research:
The methods I generally use are critical, cultural, interpretive, and/or historical, although I have also conducted quantitative work and find this approach helpful in given instances.

Selected Research Funding:

  • “Project Vital: A Study of Water in North America,” international exchange and research program about effects of climate change on water supply in Canada, Mexico, and United States; Fund for Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE), U.S. Department of Education, $50,000 (2009-2014)
  • “Public Media, Public Culture(s), and the Canadian Paradigm: Public Service Broadcasting and Globalization,” Fulbright Scholar Program, U.S. Department of State, $25,000 (2009)
  • “Facing Down the Odds: Women Pioneers in Communication” (video documentary), Feminist Research Institute, University of New Mexico, $800.00; and National Communication Association Special Projects, $5,000 (2008-2009)
  • “Rural Student Recruitment and Retention,” University of New Mexico Enrollment Management and Chase Oil Corporation, $20,000 (2009)
  • “Advancing Public Goals Through Private Competencies: The Role of Oral History in Teaching the Liberal Arts Tradition,” New Mexico Center for Teaching Excellence, $1,961 (2007-2008)

Sample Publications and Creative Works:

  • Balas, Glenda. “The Legacies of Sam Becker” (video documentary), 2010
    Part I
    Part II

  • Balas, Glenda and Anthony Schroeder. “Advancing Public Goals Through Private Competencies: The Role of Oral History in Teaching the Liberal Arts Tradition.” Action Research in the Classroom. Ed. Elwyn C. Hulett, 2009, 95-100

  • Balas, Glenda. Video project. "The Long Road to Decatur: A History of Personal Influence."
    Introduction and Part I
    Part II
    Part III

  • Balas, Glenda. “From Underserved to Broadly Served: The Class Interests of Public Broadcasting.” Critical Studies in Media Communication, 24.4 (October 2007), 365-369
  • Balas, Glenda (Producer/Writer) and Jason Balas (Videographer/Editor). Video Documentary. "Remembering Ev Rogers" (video documentary). The Innovation Journal, 10.3 (2006).
    Part I
    Part II
  • Balas, Glenda. "Service Learning and Community Collaboration: Designing Cross-Generational Intervention Projects for Pre-Adolescent Girls," Journal for Civic Commitment, Spring 2005.
  • Balas, Glenda. "Stories to Live By and Get Through: The Healing Fiction of Autobiography," Texas Speech Communication Journal, January 2005.
  • Balas, Glenda. "Domestic Values and National Security: Framing the Battle for Educational Frequencies in 1950-51," Journal of Communication Inquiry, 25,4 (October 2001), 414-437.

Selected Media Screenings:

  • “Remembering Ev Rogers,” Everett M. Rogers Symposium, Ohio University, March 2011
  • “The Legacies of Sam Becker,” National Communication Association Conference, San Francisco, CA, November 2010
  • “The Long Road to Decatur: A History of Personal Influence,” Speakers Series, Department of Sociology and Social Anthropology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, March 2009
  • “The Long Road to Decatur: A History of Personal Influence,” 2008 Jay G. Blumler Annual Lecture, Institute of Communication Studies, University of Leeds, Leeds, U.K., December 2008
  • “The Long Road to Decatur: A History of Personal Influence,” International Communication Association Conference, Montreal, Canada, May 2008
  • “The Long Road to Decatur: A History of Personal Influence,” Leah Vande Berg Lecture on Media, University of Iowa, April 2007

Teaching Style:
I would characterize my teaching style as largely active, interactive, experiential, and hands on. I am interested in students engaging the materials and ideas of class themselves and being able to articulate individual stances about the theories and practices we discuss.

Authors:
John Dewey, Jurgan Habermas, Hanno Hardt, John Peters, Wolfgang Iser, Robert Avery, Robert McChesney

Favorite Classes:
Media Criticism, Visual Communication, Media Production, Media and Society, International Media.

Why UNM?:
I am a fourth-generation New Mexico native with deep roots and strong commitments to the people and places of this state. I appreciate the diversity of the state, the strength of the department, and C&J's emphasis on intercultural communication.

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