BACT~BLACKSTONE After spending three years away from Harding to obtain her Ph.D. from the UniYersity of Florida, Dr. Ginger Blackstone, assistant professor of broadcast journalism, returned to lead Harding' T\' station. HU 16. Blackstone, a 1991 alumna of Harding, was a TV news producer and supcrYi ·or for 19 years. Blackstone worked at several television . tation , including CI\':\' and CNN Headline news, where she serYed as the nctworksupcn·ising producer for IO years, before returning to Harding in fall 201 6. "In some ways, it felt like coming home," Blackston said. '"In other ways, I didn't really hm-c time to think. Fortunately, I'm teaching things that I know, that 1\-c done, that are skills that I\·e had for 20-plus years.·' Blackstone said it was reassuring to return to a place where she knew the people she was working ,rith. "Strangely, I knew all of the faculty," Blackstone said. "I knew my boss, and some of the people I knew from undergrad. \\'hat was different, though, was in three years' time, you have almost a complete cycle or tuclents. That was unusual, but it is good to be back.'' Dr. Jim ?viiller, chair of the Department of Communication, had high hopes for Blackstone'. return to campus, and said her strengths in research positi,·ely impacted the department as a whole. He said Blackstone's changes in the processes and policie of HU 16 increased Harding's o,·crall awareness and opinion of the T\' station. "She brings a lot of knowledge and experience to the table from a professional perspectiYc that she obtained from the Uni,Trsity of Florida," ~Iiller .aid. "\\'ith Dr. Blackstone' help, [ believe we can make Harding' tele,·ision station the best college news station in the nation." l~y :1/n fl 'i11gro1.•e and Parker .\lorrow Blackstone said she loved t.hc energy of the Department of Communication. She said the department faculty and staff alway thought about how they could make the department ,·aluable for the students. "I feel like ideas here are w lcomed," Black tone said. "You \\·ork in omc places where people arc threatened by change, but 1 feel like here, we really embrace it and we look at how we can do things better." Seniorjosh Robinson, reporter and anchor for HU l6, said he loved haYing Blackstone back on campus. He said it ,ms ,·aluable to have omeonc leading the .tation who had so much T\' experience, and loved that she ran the cation like it was a real newsroom. ·'I Joye how encouraging she is to each of us," Robinson said. "She makes sure we have what we need for each story, and will help us in any way she can. I am so excited to have her back for my senior year." l·o/101.L'ing a three-J•ear educaliona/ leave, Dr. Ginger Blackstone return:, to Harding to :.erl'e as an assistant professor and director of the H L: 16 te !el.'isio 11 slatio11 . Blackstone graduated from Harding in spring 1991. was hired to workfor the university i11 2010 a11d left i11 2013 to obtain her doctorate degree. I Photo h)' F.. a:::.u Fujisawa J.OJ.),, I.L \IJ F.H~IIIP
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