Patrick T. Lafferty is an award-winning mass communicator specializing in production and content management, as well as Professor of Web Development and Digital Media at Johnson County Community College (JCCC). Before joining the faculty at JCCC, Professor Lafferty served as Director of Multimedia and Technology for The University of Kansas School of Fine Arts. He also managed and taught a staff of 200+ student journalists the ways of the new media landscape while running dozens of web sites affiliated with the William Allen White School of Journalism and Mass Communications at The University of Kansas.
Lafferty, a certified social media strategist, was also among the first cohorts certified by the Creative Commons in Open Licensing. Additionally, he has completed all coursework for certification as a Climate Change Professional (CC-P). From March of 2020 until January of 2022, his courses were entirely solar powered. Currently, more than 50% of his courses remain solar powered.
Outside of his teaching duties, Professor Lafferty consults with non-profits, startups and Fortune 500 industry leaders when his schedule permits. He served two terms as President of the JCCC Faculty Senate, as well as two terms as a Senator and Officer-At-Large. He co-authored the JCCC Social Media Policy (520.00) and JCCC Social Media Guidelines Operating Procedure (520.01) amid his other campus and community service.
He earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from The University of Kansas. Graduate work followed at The University of Kansas School of Law, as did a Master of Science in Journalism and Mass Communications from the William Allen White School of Journalism and Mass Communications at The University of Kansas, where he subsequently taught for four semesters.
Lafferty is the author of Implications of Ownership: Applying The Propaganda Model to Media Ownership Theory (PDF). His research focuses on the democratic impact of media consolidation and conglomeration, community journalism, implementations of technology for news dissemination, evolution of the news industry, as well as the ever-changing internet journalism landscape.
This is my second reflection on my teaching philosophy. The first was written when I had roughly two years of experience instructing students. Now, more than a decade into my academic career, it is fascinating to reflect again on how I approach this calling.
My approach to teaching derives from a place of inquiry. The human condition is one of constant questioning. As such, I find the best way to teach is with a modified Socratic method. "Modified" in the sense that I do not only speak in interrogatories. I recognize that ultimately there may come a time when first and second year students may legitimately not know the answer to a question through no lack of effort on their part. The detriment of not informing them outweighs the benefit of making them dig deeper themselves. Rather than leave them dangling as my Socratic law professors were fond of doing, I provide enough guidance to get them to the “light bulb” moment. Inevitably, that leads to more questions and the cycle continues.
In addition to questioning students, nudging them towards logical conclusions, I also believe in maintaining a dynamic classroom environment. I don’t like to “lecture”. I prefer to have “conversations” with my (hopefully prepared) students. I suffered through many a course where the professor would stand at the front of the room and talk at us, not with us, day after day. Or worse, some would turn their back on the class and simply read a PowerPoint presentation aloud. Those courses were always the most likely to have students dozing in the desks. I am fortunate to teach subject matter that is by itself dynamic and popular with students, but that alone is not enough to keep them involved in the classroom. Subjects like copyright law and net neutrality can glaze over even the most inquisitive and bright-eyed of students.
In moments like that, the approach to the information is essential to the process of absorption for the students. In the world of web development and digital media, you ignore current events at your own peril. By weaving the latest and best media elements available into the discourse, students are able to see timely, relevant examples pertaining to the subject at hand, often torn from today’s headlines. Once, while teaching a morning and an afternoon section of the same course, I had to rewrite my lecture between classes because the law (and therefore the world) changed between my two sessions.
This dynamism isn’t common across the higher educational experience, but it is part of what makes teaching these subjects so exciting and challenging. By engaging them in conversation about events happening to all of us, students are forced to process that information enough to respond. This pushes their cognition into the next echelon.
Finally, let's consider honesty. There are too many faculty out there who are unwilling to utter the phrase, “I don’t know.” I’m not one of them. I began this piece talking about questioning. That blade cuts both ways. As much as I question my students, they in turn question me. Not my authority, per se, but how the standards, history, laws, syntax, etc. came to be. This is as it should be. None of us is above reproach. I am the authority on the subject matter in my courses, but that does not mean that I know everything. The rewritten lecture scenario above illustrates just how easily my “authority” could have gone the other way. Had I taken a leisurely lunch that day, my later lecture would have been inaccurate. Embracing this humility is key to my presence in the classroom and is missing from too much of the academy.
Professor
Web Development and Digital Media
Johnson County Community College
Overland Park, Kansas (2020-present)
Associate Professor
Web Development and Digital Media
Johnson County Community College
Overland Park, Kansas (2015-2020)
Associate Professor and Lead Faculty Member
Interactive Media
Johnson County Community College
Overland Park, Kansas (2013-2015)
Assistant Professor and Lead Faculty Member
Interactive Media
Johnson County Community College
Overland Park, Kansas (2010-2013)
Faculty - New Media
Kansas Journalism Institute
The University of Kansas
Lawrence, Kansas (2007)
Developed and taught a curriculum for high school journalism students from across the nation, with lessons focused on internet publishing via content management systems, emphasizing responsible SEO methods and web best practices. Specifically, taught the students how to distinguish themselves through their writing, basic videography and editing skills, slideshow creation (with Soundslides) and how to create netcasts of their experiences at KJI.
Lecturer
The University of Kansas
William Allen White School of Journalism and Mass Communications
Lawrence, Kansas (2006-2007)
Multimedia Newsroom Coordinator
The University of Kansas
William Allen White School of Journalism and Mass Communications
Lawrence, Kansas (2006-2007)
Graduate Research Assistant
The University of Kansas
William Allen White School of Journalism and Mass Communications
Lawrence, Kansas (2004-2006)
(Professor Peggy Kuhr; Assistant Professor Kristen Swain; Assistant Professor Doug Ward)
Other Professional Employment:
Web Consultant
pt.lafferty.me
Overland Park, Kansas (2004-present)
Director of Multimedia and Technology
The University of Kansas School of Fine Arts
Lawrence, Kansas (2007-2008)
Communications Intern
Andrews McMeel Universal
Kansas City, Missouri (2005)
Claim Representative
The Hartford
Overland Park, Kansas (2003-2004)
Supervisor
Policy Research Institute
Lawrence, Kansas (1999-2001)
Designed, created and taught a curriculum for a team of five KU students initially focused on how to develop, critique and present their news innovation, “VoxPop,” to students and faculty from six competing academic institutions (Michigan State University, Kansas State University, Western Kentucky University, Ithaca College, University of Nevada-Las Vegas and St. Michael’s College) and then to a broader audience. Thirty-five students from the other institutions ultimately joined the KU team. Mentored the new group through their eventual presentation to the Online News Association convention in Toronto. “VoxPop” is still in development.
JOUR 694
Online Writing, Design, and Production
f'06, s'07, with Prof. Rick Musser
Invited Lectures & Panel Appearances:
Johnson County Community College Overland Park, KS
JCCC Great Books Lecture Series, “Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451”,
February 5, 2020
“What is the one skill that a journalist of the near-future should possess?”, JOUR 226: Digital Newsgathering, March 24, 2010, with Asst. Prof. Staci Baird
The University of Kansas William Allen White School of Journalism and Mass Communications Lawrence, KS
“Blogging 101: Content Management and You”, JOUR 201: Current Issues In Journalism (s'07)
“Blogging 101: Content Management and You”, JOUR 636: Opinion and Commentary (s'07)
“Content Management in the newsroom”, JOUR 692: TV News I (s'07)
“This Is What Democracy Looks Like”, JOUR 608: Ethics and the Media (s'06)
“Stephen Glass: I Lied For Esteem”, JOUR 608: Ethics and the Media (s'06)
“Maximize Reach with Content Management – Part II”, JOUR 500: Science & Medical Writing, May 4, 2006
“Maximize Reach with Content Management – Part I”, JOUR 500: Science & Medical Writing, April 13, 2006
Technical Skills, Programs & Protocols:
Previously taught:
Acrobat, Audacity, Audition, Blogger, CSS, DVD Studio Pro, Facebook, Final Cut Pro, FileZilla, Fireworks, Flash, FTP, HootSuite, HTML, JavaScript, Photoshop, Premiere, programming concepts, Microsoft Office Suite, mobile first design, MovableType, MySpace, OpenOffice, OSX, organic SEO methods, Soundslides, TweetDeck, Twitter, Vimeo, Windows, WordPress, YouTube
ActionScript, After Effects, Django, Flash, LAMP/MAMP, MySQL, PHP, Python, RSS, SPSS, XML
Grant Work & Consulting:
Partnered with Lorie Paldino’s Business Communications (BUS 150) courses at Johnson County Community College as a part of a $750 Collaborative Learning mini-grant from the JCCC Collaborative Learning Lab (CoLab). The project brought Web Development and Digital Media students (WEB 123) together with Business students so both groups could gain valuable experience and insight into the client/consultant relationship. The WEB consultants worked with the BUS clients to improve the design and content strategies of their WordPress-based blog sites. (s’17)
Created and led the Innovation Incubator for The University of Kansas as a part of a $230,000 grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation’s 21st Century News Challenge. The project was designed to foster creative thinking about solutions to digital news problems. (sum’07)
Partnered with The University of Kansas Department of Design, the KU School of Business’ Entrepreneurship Program and the William Allen White School of Journalism and Mass Communications, under corporate grants from telecommunications industry leaders Nokia and Cingular (now AT&T) on an international, multi-disciplinary project examining the viability of the high-end Nokia N73 and N93 camera phones from the perspective of multimedia newsroom implementations, design and product viability. (s’07)
Produced a video under a grant from The University of Kansas Center for Teaching Excellence in collaboration with The University of Kansas Center for Research and the Kansas Energy Office of Assistant Professor Kristen Swain’s Science and Medical Writing students highlighting new facilities and projects underway at the Multidisciplinary Research Building on KU’s West Campus. (sum’06)
Developed a new interface and aesthetic for the Associated Press Managing Editors’ National Credibility Roundtables Project web site (apme-credibility.org). The site is the repository of research and reports of this Ford Foundation-funded project that promotes continuing communication between the public and the press, encouraging journalists to build better news practices. (s’06, sum’06)
Developed the Covering Communities project web site (coveringcommunities.org) in partnership with John Harwood of The Harwood Institute for Public Innovation and Professor Peggy Kuhr of The University of Kansas as a part of a $200,000 grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation seeking improved community contact and representation via web tools for journalists and community leaders. (f’05, s’06, sum’06)
University & College Service:
Johnson County Community College
CSIT Elections Committee (2022 - present)
Open Educational Resources (OER) Grant Committee (2018-present)
Open Educational Resources (OER) Task Force (2018-present)
CSIT Student Engagement Committee (2016 - present)
Web Development and Digital Media Curriculum Committee (2011 - present)
Web Development and Digital Media Advisory Board (2011 - present)
Various Campus-Wide Hiring Committees (2010 - present)
Educational Technology Advisory Council (2011 - 2021)
Faculty Senator (At-Large) (2015 - 2021)
Faculty Senate Constitutional Committee (2017 - 2021)
Technology Innovations Grant Committee (2010 - 2020)
President, Faculty Senate (2016 - 2018)
Chair, Faculty Senate Executive Committee (2016 - 2018)
Collegial Steering Committee (2016 - 2018)
Faculty Leadership Council (2016 - 2018)
Chair, Faculty Senate Communications Committee (2015 - 2017)
Digital Media Editor – Hare and Bell Academic Journal (2014 - 2016)
Reading Readiness Taskforce (2014 - 2015)
Emerging Technologies & Communications Curriculum Development Committee (2012 - 2014)
Secular Student Alliance Faculty Adviser (2012 - 2014)
Social Media Policy Committee (2011 - 2012)
Co-authored, along with former JCCC General Counsel Tanya Wilson, the JCCC Social Media Policy (520.00) and JCCC Social Media Guidelines Operating Procedure (520.01). They were drafted in response to a student victory in federal court overturning a campus disciplinary ruling related to a social media post. The policy and guidelines are written to afford maximum free expression for the campus community while maintaining quality learning environments in both physical and digital spaces.
William Allen White Technology Committee (2005 - 2007)
William Allen White Senior Evaluation Committee (2005 - 2006)
William Allen White Graduate Advisory Council (2005 - 2006)
The University of Kansas Student Union Activities Board (2000 - 2001)
The University of Kansas Student Union Activities Constitutional Revision Committee (2000 - 2001)
The University of Kansas Student Lecture Series Board (2000 - 2001)
Kansas Memorial Unions Program Director Selection Committee (2000)
Kansas Memorial Unions Advisor Selection Committee (2000)
The University of Kansas Student Senate Finance Committee (Voting Member) (1997)
Community Service:
Interactive Design Program Adviser, Center for Advanced Professional Skills (CAPS), Blue Valley School District (2011 - present)
Multimedia consultant/web master, Project: Katrina Hope, New Orleans, Louisiana and Lawrence, Kansas (2006 - 2011)
Professional Awards:
Best Station Website “tv.ku.edu” Kansas Association of Broadcasters (2007)
Best Online In-Depth Reporting "Drought affects Kansans" by Matthew Goble and Patrick Shehan Society of Professional Journalists’ Mark of Excellence National Finalist; Region 7: 1st place (2007)
Best Online Sports Reporting "Evolution of KU cheerleading" by James Pinick and Andrew Baker Society of Professional Journalists’ Mark of Excellence National Finalist; Region 7: 1st place (2007)
Best Affiliated Website “tv.ku.edu” Society of Professional Journalists’ Mark of Excellence Region 7: 2nd place (2007)
Best Online News Reporting "Seniors dance to their health" by Heidi Fedak and Heather Brummitt Society of Professional Journalists’ Mark of Excellence Region 7: 2nd place (2007)
Best Online Opinion and Commentary "eHub" by Heidi Fedak and Michael Phillips Society of Professional Journalists’ Mark of Excellence Region 7: 2nd place (2007)
Manager’s Citation for Innovation The Hartford (2003)
Manager’s Citation for Excellence The Hartford (2003)
Academic Awards & Achievements:
The Chancellor’s List
The National Dean’s List
The University of Kansas Student Union Activities Board Scholarship
The University of Kansas Honor Roll
The University of Kansas Mt. Oread Scholar
The University of Kansas Honor Scholarship
High-Definition Multimedia Video: KUDesign, Permanent Installation, Digital Media Center, Art and Design Building, The University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS (2007 - present)
High-Definition Multimedia Video: KUDesign, 8th Annual Collage Concert, The Lied Center, Lawrence, KS (2007)
International Experience:
International travel experience throughout Australia, Europe, and North America
Deutsch (German) language
Ich bin gut in Wort und Schrift, aber meine vokabeln ist so lala.
Français (French) language
Je lis français, je parle français, mais je ecrive français tres mauvais.
Español (Spanish) language
Hablo un poco de español, pero necesito mucha práctica.
Developed as part of Creative Commons certification in Open Licensing, this mobile-first, keyboard and mouse accessible web app allows anyone to create a web-based timeline of events with full data portability but without any programming knowledge.
Best Station Website “tv.ku.edu” Kansas Association of Broadcasters (2007)
Best Online In-Depth Reporting "Drought affects Kansans" by Matthew Goble and Patrick Shehan Society of Professional Journalists’ Mark of Excellence National Finalist; Region 7: 1st place (2007)
Best Online Sports Reporting "Evolution of KU cheerleading" by James Pinick and Andrew Baker Society of Professional Journalists’ Mark of Excellence National Finalist; Region 7: 1st place (2007)
Best Affiliated Website “tv.ku.edu” Society of Professional Journalists’ Mark of Excellence Region 7: 2nd place (2007)
Best Online News Reporting "Seniors dance to their health" by Heidi Fedak and Heather Brummitt Society of Professional Journalists’ Mark of Excellence Region 7: 2nd place (2007)
Best Online Opinion and Commentary "eHub" by Heidi Fedak and Michael Phillips Society of Professional Journalists’ Mark of Excellence Region 7: 2nd place (2007)
Manager’s Citation for Innovation The Hartford (2003)
Manager’s Citation for Excellence The Hartford (2003)
Podcasts & Presentations
The Brain Burrito - Season 01 - Episode 02 - OER
Faculty Development Coordinator Farrell Jenab joins Robbie Miller, Diversity Recruiter, Professor Barry Bailey, Library, and Professor Patrick Lafferty, Web Development & Digital Media, to discuss Open Educational Resources (OER).
Before joining the faculty at JCCC, Professor Lafferty served as Director of Multimedia and Technology for The University of Kansas School of Fine Arts. He also managed and taught a staff of 200+ student journalists the ways of the new media landscape while running dozens of web sites affiliated with the William Allen White School of Journalism and Mass Communications at The University of Kansas.