School Welcomes Two New Faculty Members, Announces Promotions
Columbia, Mo. (Aug. 18, 2019) — The Missouri School of Journalism welcomes two new faculty members and announces promotions for five others for the 2019-20 academic year.
Those promoted to the academic rank of professor are Katherine Reed, a member of the journalism professions faculty, and Jon Stemmle, member of the strategic communication faculty. Jim Flink, a member of the strategic communication faculty, Beverly Horvit, a member of the journalism studies faculty, and Brian Kratzer, a member of the journalism professions faculty, were all promoted to the academic rank of associate professor. The promotions are effective Sept. 1.
The new faculty members are:
Major King, Assistant Professor
Major King comes to the faculty from KMGH-TV Denver 7, the 2019 Edward R. Murrow winner of Overall Excellence, where he was a multimedia journalist for their Northern Bureau in Fort Collins for nearly 20 years. An experienced FAA Part 107 UAS pilot, he’s logged hundreds of hours of drone flights in 10 states. King graduated from Colorado State University and holds four regional Emmys, two NPPA national awards, a host of NPPA regional quarterlies and a regional Murrow award for his profile of a crack cocaine addict.
A native of western Nebraska, King began his career freelancing for CNN in Denver during the attempted assassination of President Reagan before working fulltime in Boise, ID (KIVI-TV), Springfield, OR (KMTR-TV) and Albuquerque, NM (KOB-TV). He brings 38 years of broadcasting experience to Missouri.
Kathryn Lucchesi, Assistant Professor
Kathryn “Kat” Lucchesi is a seasoned multimedia storyteller and digital strategist who has led communication teams for college athletic programs and private industry. From 2018-2019, she practiced her storytelling skills at Stoller Wine Group, a company which leveraged economies of scale in the wine industry. As the digital marketing director, she led the digital strategy for the five wine brands on social media, advertising, and content creation.
Prior to the wine industry, Lucchesi spent nine years in collegiate athletics. As the director of social media for Oregon State University Athletics, Lucchesi re-branded nearly 50 social media accounts and taught student-athletes personal branding. She was part of OSU’s ground-breaking Athletics Ideation Team, an innovative in-house creative agency that increased awareness about the Beavers’ brand, teams, student-athletes, and coaches. Lucchesi is a 2009 and 2016 graduate of The University of Missouri with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and an executive master’s of business degree.
Updated: November 10, 2020