Five UFCJC Faculty Receive Promotions

Five University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications (UFCJC) faculty have been promoted and/or granted tenure by the UF Board of Trustees in their June 2025 meeting.

Huan Chen, Advertising associate professor and Department Chair, has been promoted to professor. Chen joined the College in 2019. She was named a 2024-2027 UF Research Foundation Professor and was a UF Term Professor from 2021-2024.
Rachel Grant, Journalism assistant professor, has been promoted to associate professor and granted tenure. Grant joined the College in 2019, her research interests include social movements, social justice and Black feminism.
Juliana Fernandes, Advertising assistant professor, has been promoted to associate professor and granted tenure. Fernandes is an expert in the uses and effects of negative information in persuasive communication messages. She received her master’s and doctoral degrees from UFCJC in 2010 and joined the College in 2019.
Jieun Shin, Media Production, Management and Technology assistant professor, has been promoted to associate professor and granted tenure. Her research focuses on social media dynamics with a focus on the spread of misinformation and fact-checking. Shin joined the College in 2018.
Dan Windels, Advertising lecturer, has been promoted to senior lecturer. Windels joined the College in 2019. Previously he was a lead brand strategist and market researcher at Covalent Logic in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Chen and Windels promotions take effect on July 1. Grant, Fernandes and Shin are effective Aug. 16.

College of Journalism and Communications