Three to join UNC J-school faculty July 1

The UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media welcomes Dan Kim, Adam Saffer and Lisa Villamil, who join the faculty as assistant professors beginning July 1.

Meet the school’s new hires:

Dong Hoo “Dan” Kim joins the school as an assistant professor after completing his doctoral degree at the University of Texas at Austin to teaching courses in advertising. His research focuses on brands and brand personality, cross-cultural consumer behavior and integrated marketing communication. Before academia, Kim worked as an advertising agency account executive, overseeing various global and local clients. He also holds a master’s degree in advertising from the University of Texas at Austin and a bachelor’s degree in mass communications and Korean language and literature from Sogang University in Seoul, South Korea.

Adam Saffer comes from the University of Oklahoma’s Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication after completing his doctoral degree. He joins the public relations faculty as an assistant professor. His research incorporates network theory with public relations and technology. Saffer has been a Ketchum Global Public Relations Research Fellow  at the New York Ketchum office and served as assistant to the chief of staff at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs.

Lisa Villamil joins the visual communication faculty after teaching at Ohio University since 2010. She will teach data visualization and multimedia courses. Villamil has more than 15 years of media experience working across interaction, animation, motion, video, multimedia and print. She has worked with and consulted for startups, digital agencies and museums, among other clients. Villamil’s recent research interests have taken her to France as a research editor at the Cannes Lions Creativity Festival, where she studied trends in the creative industry. She holds a master’s in art education Virginia Commonwealth University and a bachelor of fine arts degree and bachelor’s in history from the University of Missouri.