Peggy Dillon
Professional Details
| Title: | Assistant Professor |
| Office: | CC-150 |
| Phone: | 978-542-7078 |
| Email: | peggy.dillon@salemstate.edu |
Spring Courses
| Cat. # | Term | Course # | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1187 | 02 | COM205 | Computer Production in Communications |
| 1210 | 01 | COM371 | News Reporting and Writing |
| 1211 | 02 | COM371 | News Reporting and Writing |
Professional Biography
Ph.D., Mass Communication, E.W. Scripps School of Journalism, Ohio University - 1997
Graduate Certificate, Women's Studies, Ohio University - 1997
M.S., Journalism, E.W. Scripps School of Journalism, Ohio University - 1994
B.A., Geography, Department of Geosciences, UMass Amherst - 1983
Professional Interests
Convergent journalism, news and feature writing, adventure and outdoor journalism, publication layout and design, speech-writing, editing, oral history, and urban education.
Responsibilities
Courses Taught at Salem State:
Introduction to Communications / COM 201
Computer Production in Communications / COM 205
Editing / COM 209
Fundamentals of News Writing / COM 370
News Reporting and Writing / COM 371
Feature Writing / COM 470
Other Responsibilities:
Faculty Adviser to The Salem State Log, the student-run campus newspaper published in print every other week and online at www.salemstatelog.com; won Salem State's 2010 Adviser of the Year award.
Selected Publications
Book:
Seeking the Greatest Good: The Public Welfare Foundation, Copyright 2000 by the Public Welfare Foundation, 159 pp. The book won the Gold Award in the Wilmer Shields Rich Awards Program for Excellence in Communications.
Book Reviews:
"Crooked Road: The Story of the Alaska Highway," The Oral History Review; Volume 37, Issue 2, Summer Fall 2010
"Baychimo: Arctic Ghost Ship," The Northern Review; Number 33, Fall 2010
Adventure, Outdoor and Travel Articles:
"From the Old Obs to Windswept," Windswept: The Quarterly Bulletin of the Mount Washington Observatory; Volume 50, Number 1, Spring 2009
"Slamming Doors, Cries for Help: Skeptics and believers in the White Mountains encounter ghosts," Appalachia: America's Longest-Running Journal of Mountaineering and Conservation; Winter/Spring 2009
"Life Among the Clouds: AMCers at the Mount Washington Observatory," The Resuscitator; Spring 2006
"Of Rocks and Hard Places: Climbing Means Negotiating Sheer Fear," Valley News; May 25, 1991
Speeches:
"The Protection and Advocacy Role Within the Center for Mental Health Services and the Role of Legal Advocacy in the Mental Health System." Speech given by Bernard Arons, M.D., Director of the Center for Mental Health Services, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, at the National Association of Protection and Advocacy Systems' CEO Training Meeting, Washington, DC; April 17, 2002
"Alice Evans: First Female President of the Society of American Bacteriologists." Speech given by Rita R. Colwell, Ph.D., Director of the National Science Foundation, at the 99th General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology (formerly the Society of American Bacteriologists), Chicago, IL; May 31, 1999. The speech was subsequently published as an article in the Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine 72 (1999), pp. 349-56.
Science Writing:
"Japan Promotes New Vision of R&D in Talk at AAAS," Science magazine; September 28, 2001
Political Articles:
"Tsongas: Unknown No Longer [co-authored coverage of 1992 New Hampshire Presidential primary election won by Democratic candidate Paul Tsongas], Valley News; February 19, 1992
"Harkin: Rethink Economy; Democratic Presidential Candidate Pans Reagonomics" [interview with 1992 Democratic Presidential primary candidate Tom Harkin], Valley News; November 16, 1991
Profiles:
"Master Carver Turns Stone Into Art: Washington National Cathedral Welcomes Artist's Unspoken Ultimatum," The Herald Journal, Logan, UT; July 26, 1995
"Jorma Kaukonen's Organic Odyssey: With His Fur Peace Guitar Camp, the Longtime Blues Guitarist Passes the Torch to the Next Generation," Southeast Ohio magazine; Winter 1994
Selected Presentations
Refereed Paper Presentations:
"Creative Structure: Keeping Communications Students Engaged." Presented at the New England Faculty Development Consortium's Spring Conference, Westford, MA; May 2010
"The Role of the Beardmore South Field Camp in the History and Evolution of the Antarctic Treaty." Presented at the History of International Spaces Workshop, Antarctic Treaty Summit: Science-Policy Interactions in International Governance, Washington, DC; December 2009
"One Luddite's Journey: My Evolution from Analog to Digital Oral History." Presented at the Oral History Association's Annual Meeting, Pittsburgh, PA; October 2008
"Close Cousins: Journalists, Oral Historians, and the Interdisciplinary Shaping of Subjects' Voices." Presented at the Oral History Association's Annual Meeting, Anchorage, AK; October 1999
Invited Presentations:
Gave Faculty Keynote Speech at Lambda Pi Eta Annual Induction Ceremony, Salem State University, Salem, MA; March 2010
Was invited guest lecturer at master's level class in Writing for Public Relations and Marketing, Harvard University Extension School, Cambridge, MA; February 2010
Gave presentation titled “Gusts, Ghosts, and Greenouts: Writing About Adventures in Antarctica, the White Mountains, and Other Far-Flung Places,” School of Arts and Sciences Open Forum, Salem State University, Salem, MA; February 2009
Chaired and participated in panel discussion titled “The Scientific Community,” Oral History Association’s Annual Meeting, Bethesda, MD; October 2003
Gave Keynote Address titled “An Oral History Odyssey: Interviewing Notable NIH Scientists,” Biomedical Research History Interest Group (BHRIG) Lecture Series, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD; April 2002
Presented slide show about 1985-86 work and travel experiences in Antarctica and New Zealand to:
Salem State University classes, Salem, MA; December 2008
Hospitality Public Charter High School classes, Washington, DC; December 2005 and 2006
Blue Ridge Section of American Alpine Club, Rosslyn, VA; September 2001
University of Massachusetts Geography Class, Amherst, MA; February 1987
Connecticut Chapter of Appalachian Mountain Club, Darien, CT; February 1987
Personal Interests
I am an avid hiker, kayaker, and cross-country skier. I also make decorative and functional art, including quilts, painted furniture, needlepoint, braided rugs, and knitted clothing. Prior to becoming a writer and professor, I worked as a cook at the Beardmore South Field Camp in Antarctica, a weather observer atop Mount Washington in New Hampshire, a highway construction foreperson in Vermont, a bingo agent at Harrah's Casino in Reno, and a hutmaster and hut crew member for the Appalachian Mountain Club in New Hampshire's White Mountains.