Wendy Wyatt, Ph.D.

About Wendy Wyatt, Ph.D.

Dr. Wendy Wyatt has been at St. Thomas since 2003. A media ethicist by training, she is now Vice Provost for Academic Affairs and professor of media ethics. During her time at St. Thomas, Dr. Wyatt has chaired the Department of Communication and Journalism, co-chaired the university's Higher Learning Commission reaccreditation, served as a leader in developing two of the university's most recent strategic plans, co-led the campus through the COVID-19 pandemic, and served in two leadership roles in Academic Affairs: one as the Associate Vice Provost for Undergraduate Studies (now Undergraduate Student Achievement) and the second as Vice Provost for Academic Affairs. In her current role, Dr. Wyatt works with the associate vice provosts for Accreditation, Assessment and Curriculum; Faculty Advancement and Research; Global Learning and Strategy; Undergraduate Student Achievement; and University Libraries, and with the directors of the Office of Sustainability Initiatives and the Selim Center for Lifelong Learning. She also works closely with the deans of St. Thomas' eight colleges and schools on university-wide policies and initiatives.

As a professor and scholar, Dr Wyatt has taught courses in media ethics; communication and citizenship; media literacy; public communication; and race, class, gender and media. Her research focuses on issues of media and democracy, and she has particular interests in journalism ethics, citizen responsibilities to the media, and media literacy. She is the author or editor of four books on media ethics, and her work has appeared in such journals as the Journal of Media Ethics, Journalism and Communication Monographs, and the International Journal of Applied Philosophy, as well as in several edited volumes. Wyatt holds a Ph.D. in communication from the University of Oregon, a master's degree in philosophy from the University of Montana and a bachelor's degree in journalism from Colorado State University.