Hussman School welcomes four new faculty members

The UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media welcomes Lucinda Austin, Livis Freeman, Kate O'Brian and Carol Wolf to the faculty this academic year.

"Our outstanding faculty is made that more excellent with the additions of Lucinda, Livis, Kate and Carol," said Susan King, dean of the Hussman School. "Collectively, our newest faculty members bring a rich mix of diverse skills, experiences, professional achievements and scholarly focus areas that reflect the wide range of opportunities for our students."

Meet the school's new hires:

Lucinda Austin

Assistant Professor

Lucinda Austin joined the Hussman School faculty in July 2016 and teaches courses in public relations and strategic communication. Her research focuses on social media’s influence on strategic communication initiatives, namely health and crisis communication, and explores publics’ perspectives in corporate social responsibility and organization-public relationship building. Before joining the faculty, Austin was an assistant professor of strategic communications at Elon University, where she taught courses in communications research, strategic campaigns, strategic writing and health communications, and served as associate director of Elon’s Honors Program. Her professional experience includes work for the Center of Risk Communication Research at the University of Maryland and for ICF International, a firm offering communication support to federal government and nonprofit organizations, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, United States Department of Health & Human Services, Federal Emergency Management Agency and the American Red Cross.

Livis Freeman

Lecturer

Livis Freeman graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill in 1999 with a degree in psychology. While at UNC, he was heavily involved in the community. He participated in the Campus Y Big Buddy and Habitat for Humanity programs. He participated in a Habitat Spring Break trip to Miami, Florida, during his junior year and led a Habitat Spring Break trip to Orlando, Florida, during his senior year. In 2001, Freeman started a public and community relations company called 4ourFans, Inc., to help professional athletes create their charitable identities, improve their image and marketability and give back to their communities and fans. In his 15 years of operating 4ourFans, Freeman has worked with sports stars such as Jerry Stackhouse (NBA), Antawn Jamison (NBA), Juwan Howard (NBA), Brendan Haywood (NBA), Jarvis Hayes (NBA), Erick Dampier (NBA), TJ Ford (NBA), Kris Jenkins (NFL), Quentin Groves (NFL), Chansi Stuckey (NFL), Leroy Hill (PGA), James Butler (NFL), Tim Clark (PGA), Charles Howell III (PGA) and former two-time heavyweight boxing champion Riddick Bowe. Through 4ourFans, Freeman has provided an internship program that has given more than 50 students around the country the chance to get valuable experience in public and community relations. Prior to becoming professor of the practice, Freeman worked as an adjunct professor for the Hussman School and taught courses in public relations case studies, public relations campaigns and current issues in mass communication.

Kate O'Brian

Hearst Visiting Professor

Kate O'Brian will join the faculty to teach Media Hub, a capstone course in the Hussman School supported by a $3.25 million endowment from 1965 UNC alumnus John H. Stembler Jr. O'Brian's first job as a desk assistant with ABC News led to more than two decades with the company, including producer roles in Washington, D.C., New York, Rome and London and work on high-visibility programs like “World News Tonight with Peter Jennings,” “This Week with David Brinkley” and “Good Morning America.” In 2004, O'Brian advanced to executive leadership and led news gathering and satellite services for affiliate stations as vice president of NewsOne and ABSAT. NewsOne and ABSAT are ABC News' links to its affiliated stations, owned and operated stations and clients worldwide. O'Brian came on board as president of Al Jazeera America with its inception in 2013. Under her leadership, Al Jazeera America won dozens of U.S. and international industry awards. Other awards to her credit include an Alfred I. duPont Award as part of the "This Week with David Brinkley" team, an Emmy Award for her coverage of the 2000 Millennium, a duPont and a Peabody Award for her September 11 coverage and the 2015 Robert G. McGruder Award for her commitment to gender and ethnic diversity.

Carol Wolf

Walter E. Hussman Visiting Lecturer in Business Journalism

Carol Wolf will join Walter E. Hussman Sr. Distinguished Professor Chris Roush in the Hussman School's business journalism program as the Walter E. Hussman Visiting Lecturer in Business Journalism. Wolf began working at Bloomberg in 1994, when the financial wire service was only four years old. During the next 18 years, she helped build the organization from its infancy by writing thousands of articles, speaking at public events, cold-calling companies, moderating industry panels and developing nearly 1,000 sources to break news and serve readers. Her beats included consumer products and industrials about which she wrote trend pieces and covered companies such as Procter & Gamble Co, Caterpillar, Inc., Hertz and 3M. In 2010, she moved to Bloomberg Government in Washington, D.C., where she analyzed the business implications of federal government actions specializing in infrastructure and government contracts. After leaving Bloomberg in 2013, Wolf started Carol Wolf Media and now writes annual reports, white papers, blogs, articles and executive summaries. She’s the author of three books and currently lives in Pittsboro, North Carolina, near her horse Sundance.