UFCJC faculty members receive 2026-2027 professional development leave and sabbaticals
Six University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications (UFCJC) faculty members have been awarded professional development leave and sabbaticals for the upcoming 2026-2027 academic year.
- Cynthia Barnett, senior lecturer and Director of Climate and Environment Reporting Initiatives, will take Professional Development Leave for the fall 2026 semester. During this time, she will continue her work as an environmental journalist and author, including progress on a forthcoming book exploring groundwater and its global impact, work that strengthens our leadership in climate and science communication.
- Elizabeth “Lissy” Calienes, Advertising associate instructional professor, has been awarded Professional Development Leave for fall 2026. She will examine how creativity and strategic communication are being redefined within today’s advertising industry and to apply those insights to the future structure of the Department of Advertising’s curriculum.
- Juliana Fernandes, Advertising associate professor, has been awarded a sabbatical for the fall 2026 semester. Her work will examine how environmental and health-related claims are presented in advertising and product packaging, and how they influence consumer understanding and decision-making.
- Rachel Grant, Journalism associate professor, has been awarded a sabbatical for fall 2026. She will continue her research on race, gender and class in media, building on a nationally recognized body of scholarship examining representation and discourse.
- Jieun Shin, Media Production, Management, and Technology associate professor, has been awarded a sabbatical for both fall 2026 and spring 2027. Her work focuses on digital media ecosystems, including how audiences engage with news, misinformation and emerging technologies.
- Kun Xu, Media Production, Management, and Technology associate professor of Emerging Technologies and director of the Media Effects and Technology Lab (METL) and UFCJC Research Lab, will be taking his deferred sabbatical in fall 2026 and spring 2027. He will co-edit a special issue for the journal Social Media + Society and continue to work on research on human-robot interaction and human-computer interaction. He will also spend time at Stanford University’s Tech Impact and Policy Center as well as their Social Media Lab.
Full time non-tenured faculty are eligible for Professional Development Leave and full-time tenured faculty are eligible for sabbaticals.
Category: AI at CJC News, Alumni News, College News
Tagged: Advertising Cynthia Barnett Elizabeth "Lissy" Calienes Jieun Shin Journalism Juliana Fernandes Kun Xu MPMT Rachel Grant
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