Chris McCollough, Ph.D., Named Director, School of Communication and Media at the Norman J. Radow College of Humanities and Social Sciences

KENNESAW, Ga. (Apr 24, 2025) — Dean Catherine (Katie) Kaukinen announced this week, Chris McCollough, Ph.D., as the new director for the School of Communication and Media (SOCM) effective July 1st, 2025. In this role McCollough will provide leadership for faculty and staff and oversee the school’s academic programs and budget. While working in collaboration with SOCM’s faculty, staff, and the dean, McCollough will support and enhance research, creative activities, student success, and community engagement as it aligns with the university’s strategic plan.

“Dr. McCollough is the right person at the right time to step into this position. His proven results in engaging and supporting faculty while prioritizing students is evident from his past achievements,” said Dean Kaukinen.  “As we continue to build on what we have already achieved regarding our students’ career readiness, Dr. McCollough brings an ability to develop partnerships with businesses, nonprofits, and communications and media organizations in the metro Atlanta area that will open new pathways and opportunities for our faculty and students alike,” she added.

In addition to his role as SOCM’s director, he will apply his experience fundraising and growing resources with an eye toward potentially generating support for creating new research and programmatic opportunities within the school. For example, while at Jacksonville State University as an administrator, McCollough helped establish and served as the inaugural Ayers Family Endowed Chair of Journalism and Mass Communication. McCollough said that part of growing opportunities for students to engage in practical experience while in school and opening doors for faculty to conduct research and participate in professional development happens through nurturing relationships with industry professionals and building relationships with donors and sponsors.

“I think that there’s a really beautiful opportunity being in Atlanta and recognizing that you have the 7th largest media market in the country to work with, balanced against such a robust home for domestic and international companies in the Greater Atlanta Metro area,” said McCollough. “Each of our [undergraduate and graduate] programs can really take full advantage of that, and we can integrate those relationships and create some of those opportunities for our students to really build their portfolios while they’re studying.”

As Kennesaw State University makes strides toward national prominence, the work taking place in Radow College, and in the schools and departments that comprise it, becomes essential to KSU’s ability to achieve its strategic goals. “Dr. McCollough is both student- and faculty-focused,” said Dean Kaukinen. “What stood out in the search was his passion for identifying ways he could support faculty in their creative and research endeavors, while ensuring that students remain central to SOCM’s mission,” Kaukinen added.

When asked what excited him about this new position, McCollough said, “the students come first for faculty, even as they’re actively building robust research agendas and really looking to advance the university’s relationship with the community in the region. Knowing that I’ve built so much of my career around cultivating industry partnerships and trying to build industry ready graduates, I’m excited about the future direction of the school and the university.”

McCollough comes to Kennesaw State University after 13 years as an educator at Columbus State University (2012-2020) and administrator at Jacksonville State University (2021-2025). He is a graduate of Virginia Tech University (B.A. - Communication;  M.A. – Communication) and Louisiana State University’s Manship School of Mass Communication (Ph.D. – Media and Public Affairs).

As the department head of Communication at Jacksonville State University, he led the department’s successful push for full ACEJMC reaccreditation during their 2023 site revisit. Under his leadership, the unit completed facility and curricular updates to meet industry standards, made a rigorous curriculum more flexible and accessible for students, and he re-engaged with alumni and industry to support program development and to bring industry into the classroom.