09/27/96
Contact: Michael Bugeja, Ohio University, 614/593-2590
ATHENS, Ohio -- Ohio University President Robert Glidden has appointed a nationally known writer and ethicist as a special adviser, hoping to spark a student-professor dialogue about standards and values at Ohio University.
Michael J. Bugeja, a professor in the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism, will serve as adviser to the president on standards, performing a wide range of activities, including conducting workshops on ethics and ethical coursework relating to all disciplines.
Glidden emphasized that the position on standards is meant to inspire discussion about standards rather than enforce specific ones.
"I would like to see this appointment help foster a closer relationship between students and professors, so that they may feel comfortable discussing a wide range of issues, not only related to ethics, but to every aspect of contemporary society," Glidden said.
Bugeja also will meet regularly with Glidden and with other administrators as educational issues arise. He will use his writing experience to provide Glidden with news summaries and digests pertaining to ethics, standards, educational issues, and Ohio University concerns. He also will work with Kathy Krendl, dean of the College of Communication, on assignments concerning faculty development.
Bugeja, author of the textbook Living Ethics, will continue to teach magazine writing and ethics in the Scripps School. Glidden noted that in making the appointment, he did not want to remove Bugeja from the classroom. Bugeja was named a University Professor in 1988-89.
He came to Ohio University in 1986 after serving eight years as a newswriting professor at Oklahoma State University. Before teaching at Oklahoma, Bugeja worked for United Press International as state editor for North and South Dakota.
He is author of some 13 books on social criticism, nonfiction, fiction, and poetry. His literary nonfiction and creative writing have appeared in Harper's, The Georgia Review, The Kenyon Review and TriQuarterly, among others. His articles have appeared in many publications, including Quill, Editor & Publisher, Journalism Quarterly, Journalism Educator and English Journal.
His awards include a National Endowment for the Arts fellowship, fiction; a National Endowment for the Humanities grant, culture; an Associated Writing Programs anniversary award, poetry; Academy of American Poets university award, poetry; Writer's Digest Grand Prize award, fiction; and Ohio Poet of the Year, 1994.
Bugeja, 44, is married to Diane Bugeja and lives in Athens with their two children, Erin and Shane.