Brady Teufel, professor and department chair
As we near the halfway mark on the Cal Poly Journalism Department’s 72nd year, I’d like to take a moment to update you on where we are and where we’re headed.
With an outstanding staff and faculty working to support student success and the major disruptions of the pandemic hopefully behind us, I’m excited to build on the momentum that my predecessor, Mary Glick, created during her nine years as department chair.
A little about me … I was born in New Zealand to American parents and raised in the Edna Valley where my family subscribed to the Telegram-Tribune newspaper, and we used a rabbit-eared antenna to watch local journalism luminary Rick Martel on KSBY-TV. I’m grateful for being brought up in a household where reading, storytelling, intellectual curiosity and exploration were all high priorities.
I left the area to earn my bachelor’s degree in sociology at the University of California, Santa Cruz and a master’s in journalism at the University of Missouri. Embracing Missouri’s hands-on approach, I wrote stories and designed news pages, and to help pay tuition, I taught undergraduate classes. I was halfway through a journalism ethics class in the Columbia Missourian newsroom when the country was attacked on 9/11/2001. While the world watched in horror, I witnessed the dedication of those who risked everything to document and humanize what was occurring in real time. These experiences would form the foundation for my career at Cal Poly.
My industry experience is wide-ranging – I’ve worked for magazines, newspapers, tech startups, non-profits and state organizations, doing everything from reporting, writing and copyediting, to web design, graphic design and videography. I believe my varied background, along with the fact that I speak passable Spanish, helped me get hired by the legendary George Ramos to teach visual communication in 2006, just as the digital journalism revolution was firmly taking hold. I was charged with creating the department’s first set of “new media” courses, all of which have evolved with new technologies and best practices and are still being taught today.
The department has made huge strides since I joined its ranks as a part-time lecturer. It’s now viewed as a model for progressive coursework and laboratory experiences, diversity and inclusion efforts, forward-thinking curricula and student engagement. As the need for credible sources of news and information continues to grow, verifiable journalism is more important than ever. I am committed to inspiring our students to embrace innovation while remaining grounded in the journalistic values of critical thinking, clear and concise writing, accuracy, ethical behavior and transparency. I hope you will continue to support our efforts to prepare the next generation of journalists and leaders.