Spencer Ryan Barnes
Dr. Spencer Barnes is an associate professor in the Hussman School of Journalism and Media, and his research examines how journalists produce and utilize dynamic visual communication products to facilitate an audience’s comprehension of the complex concepts and events described within news stories. He holds a Bachelor of Graphic Design, a Master of Industrial Design (i.e., product design) and a Doctorate of Education in Engineering Education.
Dr. Barnes teaches coursework in graphic design, information visualization and 3D animation and visual effects. He has received several teaching awards over the course of his career including the Chancellor’s Award for Student Undergraduate Teaching, the Tanner Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching and the Edward Vick Prize for Innovation in Teaching.
From 2020 until 2022, he served as co-chair of the University Teaching Awards Committee, and during that time the number and diversity of award nominations received by the committee increased substantially. Dr. Barnes also served on the Task Force on Promotion and Tenure Policies and Practices, the Student-Athlete Academic Process Review Group and the Fixed-Term Faculty Committee.
As Director of the Residential Master’s Degree Program at the Hussman School of Journalism and Media, Dr. Barnes convened and chaired a task force of faculty that redesigned the program’s journalism degree plan into a seamless one-year experience for graduate students.
He is a member of The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi, the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication and the National Communication Association.
Education
- Ed.D., North Carolina State University
- Master of Industrial Design, North Carolina State University
- Bachelor of Graphic Design, North Carolina State University