alumni profiles

promotions

Virginia Gardner Ellis, JM 1964, an award-winning reporter who has worked for the Los Angeles Times since 1988, has been named bureau chief in the California capital, Sacramento. She was awarded the 2001 George Polk and Selden Ring awards and was a Pulitzer Prize finalist in beat reporting for a series of stories that ultimately led to the resignation of the California insurance commissioner.

Keith Moyer, JM 1977, was promoted from president and publisher of The Fresno (Calif.) Bee to president and publisher of the Star Tribune, serving the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul. Both are owned by The McClatchy Company. He had been at the Bee since 1994.

Linda S. Gray, TEL 1967, MA 1983, after 27 years in UF News & Public Affairs, including 16 as director, became assistant vice president and director of special projects in the Office of Public Relations. She handles community relations and reviews communications activities of major units on campus.

Michael Christmas, ADV 1988, has been named senior vice president of Nike Communications Inc., a luxury lifestyles public relations firm in New York City. He began his career at Nike Communications as an account supervisor in 1995. He was appointed vice president in 1996 and managed the Rolls-Royce, TAG Heuer and Montblanc accounts. In his position, he will take an active role in administration and the attraction of new business.

Dr. Patrick Sutherland, MA 1989, has been promoted to associate professor of communication at Bethany College (W. Va.). He received his Ph.D. degree in mass communication from Ohio University in June 2001.

Brigida Benitez, JM 1990, has been promoted to partner at the Washington, D.C. law firm of Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering where she has an appellate and trial litigation practice.

Matt Sterling, ADV 1991, has been named vice president, Chief eCompanista of eCompany Now, a new Time Warner company in San Francisco. He was previously with Time in New York City.

Debra Leithauser, JM 1992, has been promoted to managing editor of Knight Ridder/Tribune’s special sections department in Washington, D.C. She oversees the design and development of paginated newspaper pages. She has served on the UF Journalism Advisory Council.

Dr. Matthew D. Bunker, PhD 1993, has been promoted to the rank of professor at the University of Alabama. He also holds the endowed Reese Phifer Professorship in journalism. He is the author of Critiquing Free Speech: First Amendment Theory and the Challenge of Interdisciplinarity; Justice and the Media: Reconciling Fair Trials and a Free Press and is co-author of The Law of Public Communication.

Dr. Harriet A. Roland, PhD 1993, associate professor of journalism at South Carolina State University in Orangeburg, has been named director of Honors, International and National Student Exchange Programs within the Division of Research and Graduate Studies.