Current Position | Experience | Recent College Leadership and Service | Selected Memberships
Education | Selected Community Service | Personal
Jerome R. Zurek
Cabrini College
610 King of Prussia Rd.
Radnor, PA 19087-3698
Voice: (610) 902-8360
Fax: (610) 902-8285
Email: jzurek@cabrini.edu
Professor & Chairperson,
English & Communication Department, Cabrini College (1977-present)
Teaching areas
- English Literature, particularly Shakespeare
- Mass Communication
- Journalism
- Social Justice Education
Administrative Experience
- Department and Division chair for more than 20 years, leading department growth from 40 majors to more than 200 majors
- Middle States steering committees three occasions
- Wrote and administered grants totaling $250,000
- Proposed, designed, and outfitted 4,600 sq. ft. communication center (1980-1982)
- College Admission and Enrollment Committee Chair during 10-year period of college growth from 400 FTEs to 1,000 FTEs
- Developed internship and co-op program used by 500 students
- Advisor to college newspaper and yearbook for 25 years
Newspaper has won awards from Sigma Delta Chi, the Society of Professional Journalists, the Advertising Club of Philadelphia, and All-American ratings from the Associated Collegiate Press.
- Implemented four-year career development program taken as a required program by all Communication majors, sponsored by a Pew Memorial Trust summer grant. Program provides guidance and activities for liberal arts Communication majors that develop a student’s ability to analyze talents and interests, to seek out appropriate careers, to meet professionals in an intended field, and to set short- and long-term career goals. Not only does the program assist students in focussing on their goals in a developmental way, but it involves a four-year program of professional speakers, readings, advising, and analytical papers.
- Established a series of communication speakers in which at least six major figures in the field meet with students each year, including Pulitzer-Prize winners Bob Rosenthal, Bill Marimow, Art Howe, Tom Gralish, Jim Steele, Don Barlett
- Proposed college-wide course requirement in service learning (1989)
Formulated model for course, developed community partnerships at which all students could choose their placements, and taught the trial courses for two semesters in preparation for other faculty’s adoption.
- Led department team in proposing, designing, and outfitting 12,000 square-foot $1 million communication center (1999-2000)
Awards
Consulting
- Program evaluator, Raritan Valley Community College (11/11/98)
- Program evaluator, Neumann College Communication Department
- Consultant on initiative for journalism education in school reform issues, Pennsylvania School Reform Network (2002)
- College newspaper consultant, Delaware County Community College (Feb. 13, 2003)
Selected Publications & Presentations
- Publications in Journalism Educator and College Media Review and presentations at The National Council of Teachers of English, the Conference on College Composition and Communication, and the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication national conventions on the writing process and writing in journalism
- Zurek, J. (1986). Research on writing process can aid newswriting teachers. Journalism Educator, 41 (1), 19-23.
- Co-founded with a half dozen other Philadelphia-area writing teachers, the Delaware Valley Writing Council, which became a 900-member organization devoted to improving students’ writing; Newsletter editor, 10 years
- Workshop presenter, "Integrating Tutoring into the Curriculum." Philadelphia Higher Education Network for Neighborhood Development Annual Conference: Drexel University (Nov. 12, 1999)
- Study Guide to the Iliad (2001)
- Study Guide to the Odyssey (2001)
- Panel presenter, "Plagiarism and the Internet: Prevention and Consequences." Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication national convention: Kansas City, Mo. (July 30, 2003)
- Southeastern Pennsylvania Consortium for Higher Education conference opening session. "Focusing Faculty Development on Global Issues to Align with a College's Social Justice Mission. (May 12, 2004)
- Panel presenter, "Employing PDAs for Pedagogy." Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication national convention: Toronto, Ontario (August 6, 2004)
Selected Conferences Attended
Professional Development
- Consultant to college newspapers: 1985-present, both during summers and at national media conventions, such as at Eastern University, Neumann College, Rosemont College, etc.
- Curriculum Design using WebCT—workshops, Spring 2001
- Developing further knowledge about media convergence at Poynter Institute and implementing ideas at Cabrini
- Learning and implementing many new forms of information technology to further our students' education, including WebCT, blogs, Palms, websites, etc.
- Developed three new online courses
- Revised the SEM 300 around the theme of "What's Our Common Good in 200x" (current year), focusing on key issues of social justice facing our nation and world, to prepare students for active engagement in the political process
- Partnered SEM 300 course with Julia de Burgos Hispanic Bi-lingual Elementary School in Philadelphia, cooperating with Seth Frechie, and accompanied the students in the tutoring experience each week
- Bryn Mawr College: Bryn Mawr, Pa. (1975)
Ph.D., M.A., English
- Fordham University: The Bronx, New York (1967)
A.B., English, Philosophy, Classics
- Prison Literacy Project tutor, Graterford State Prison (1993-present)
- Literacy tutor, St. Gabriel’s Church (1998)
- Little League coach (1996-1999)
- Cabrini College Nursery School advisory board (1999-2001)
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