Visiting professor expands students' experience beyond the academic world

By Abby Rouse

Jennifer Lawson

Listed among the fifty most influential women in entertainment in 1994, Jennifer Lawson brought her talents to Ohio University as a visiting professor.

Lawson, who served as the first chief programming executive in public television history at PBS, came to the University through the Rufus Putnam Visiting Professorship program for fall quarter 2002.

"What I think I bring, along with others from the outside, is our more immediate day-to-day involvement in a particular industry," Lawson said. "We bring the immediacy, the issues."

She added that this complements the strengths of the faculty, who have continuity with their presence and a familiarity with the students, which helps with professional development and growth.

Her professorship was sponsored by the School of Telecommunications. She taught a course, "The Executive Producer," geared toward teaching students how to produce for television or film by taking projects from the idea stage to production.

Lawson said she wanted a course that would apply to all genres. She wanted to teach her students how to get a project idea to the production phase, including brainstorming on paper, developing a proposal to present to others, researching where to present the idea and how to get financing. Lawson's class covered project development for television, radio, feature films, the Internet and DVD.

"Jennifer is beneficial to both the students and to professors because she is involved in the industry where students will work," said Karen Riggs, director of the School of Telecommunications. "Her knowledge and her totally energetic and charismatic personality also is a benefit."

After receiving a master's degree from Columbia University, Lawson taught for three years at Brooklyn College, and ever since then she has looked forward to coming back to an academic atmosphere.

"The intellectual climate here is quite enjoyable and rich with ideas, and a lot of energy," she said.

One advantage a visiting professor can bring to the classroom is to help expand students' experience beyond the academic world.

Lawson added, visiting professors share with students strategies and approaches to current problems facing those who daily practice in the communication world. "This knowledge will be helpful to students because it is a reality they will face."

Though Lawson's purpose was to teach producing, she also advised students on getting jobs and career development within the media field. Impressed by the School of Telecommunications internship program, Lawson said that finding an internship and getting those connections is essential.

"Students should take advantage of their time as a student, fully, not just in the classroom, but through internships," she said. "The relationships that are to be gained there are invaluable and are key to finding a job."

In addition to teaching, Lawson lectured around campus and met with many student groups. She delivered a campuswide inaugural address, "Myth versus Reality: Images of Africa in Contemporary Media," for the Department of African American Studies' new lecture series. She drew upon her experience in researching her series in describing the ways in which the continent of Africa is portrayed in American media. In another lecture and film presentation, "Carrying Baggage and Cameras: Making Media about Other People," sponsored by African Studies, she spoke of the challenges of filming other cultures.

Riggs envisions developing a shorter, intensive training session to take advantage of even more outside professionals who can bring their expertise to students.

"We have tons of influential alumni in telecommunications," Riggs said. "Along with having visiting professors here for a quarter or even a full year, having outside professionals here between three and four days would be a tremendous asset to our students."

After leaving public television in 1995, Lawson started her own production company, Magic Box Media Works, where she is currently president. Her latest finished project is "AFRICA," an eight-part series produced with National Geographic Television. Lawson was the co-executive producer for this documentary series, which examines the geography, history and cultures of Africa through the eyes of African people.

Abby Rouse is a student writer with University Communications and Marketing.