Bivins awarded Williams Fellowship

John L. Hulteng Chair in Media Ethics (and Williams Fellow) Professor Tom Bivins

At the SOJC, Professor Tom Bivins is a leader in using technology. In the mid-eighties he was one of the first faculty members to learn desktop publishing. In the mid-nineties, he designed the first SOJC website. Earlier this year, he created an online tool for the ethics component of the school’s Charles Snowden Program for Excellence in Journalism. According to SOJC web statistics, Bivins’ course websites are among the most popular sites on the school’s webpage.

The university has noticed. Bivins, the school’s John L. Hulteng Chair in Media Ethics, will be one of three UO “Williams Fellows” for the 2005-06 academic year. Created by President Dave Frohnmayer, the Williams Council at the UO administers the Tom and Carol Williams Fund for Undergraduate Education. Since 1999, the Williams Fund has recognized exceptional teachers and innovative ideas with Williams fellowships and instructional project funding. Recipients have demonstrated a commitment to undergraduate education by challenging their students academically, creating an engaged learning environment, striving to improve the learning process, and fostering interdepartmental collaboration.

“It’s quite an honor,” Bivins says, adding that the grant’s timing is fortuitous. “It coincides with what I want to do, which is to further explore the uses of technology in undergraduate education.”

Tim Gleason, Edwin L. Artzt Dean, nominated Bivins for the Fellowship, which carries a $5,000 award for Bivins and an additional $5,000 for the SOJC to be managed by Bivins to “tangibly affect the teaching and learning experience of undergraduates at the departmental level.”

Bivins said he will consult with Gleason, Associate Dean Al Stavitsky, and SOJC Instructional Technology Coordinator Andre Chinn to determine the best use of those funds. One thing he’s considering is teaching a workshop in multimedia authoring, which is something he’d like to learn himself. “I also want to explore the use of interactive ethics tools, such as online case studies,” he says.