RSJ Faculty and Staff

Donica Mensing

Associate Professor

Office: RSJ 205
Phone: 775-784-4198
Email: dmensing@unr.edu

Why I teach

Who dares to teach must never cease to learn.
John Cotton Dana

An educational system isn't worth a great deal if it teaches young people how to make a living but doesn't teach them how to make a life.
Author Unknown

Education is not filling a pail but the lighting of a fire.
William Butler Yeats

What I've Learned

We need moments each day unplugged.
Travel is an incomparable education.
We're only beginning to glimpse how the Internet is changing us.
Addressing global climate change demands our focused and sustained attention.
So do our children.
Friendship and chocolate matter.

Experience

Teaching experience
Associate professor, Reynolds School of Journalism, University of Nevada, Reno. 1998 to present

Research interests
The transformation of journalism and community

Professional experience
Garbage truck driver, U.S. Forest Service
Planner, U.S. Park Service
Administrative Director, Marin Conservation Corps
Project manager , Moore Iacofano Goltsman, Berkeley, Calif.
Reporter , Lahontan Valley News
Intern, Star Tribune Online
Technology columnist, Reno Gazette-Journal

Education
Ph.D., political science, University of Nevada, Reno
M.A., journalism, University of Nevada, Reno
M.A., science, technology and public policy, George Washington University
B.A., political economy, University of California, Berkeley

Biography

"Journalism is not primarily about news and information. It’s primarily about figuring things out.

"If we continue to think of journalism as transmission -- taking what one person or group knows and broadcasting it to others -- we will do little to generate practical intelligence. If we continue to think of journalism as expression -- here's how we turn a phrase, capture an image, produce a compelling package -- we will do little to generate practical intelligence. Transmission and expression are elements of journalism, are part of its means (and must therefore be studied and taught), but they are not its purpose, function, source of value, etc. Inquiry is.

"Journalists will never replace artists, prophets, politicians, teachers, preachers or even lawyers. But we can help catalyze the creation of publics and the continuous efforts to reach sound public judgment.

"Journalism's power, its authority, derives from how well it helps people resolve issues in their lives (individual and collective). If it is liberating, it will be compelling." Cole Campbell, former RSJ Dean