Southeastern Louisiana University has appointed a new communication and media studies department head. Caroline E. Sawyer will join the Southeastern faculty from University of South Carolina Beaufort, where she served as associate professor and director of the Sand Shark Center for Innovative Media.
An award-winning media producer, educator, and academic leader specializing in broadcast production, sports broadcasting, community storytelling, and experiential media pedagogy, Sawyer holds a doctorate in communication from the University of Memphis.
“Dr. Caroline Sawyer brings a phenomenal wealth of experience to the Department of Communication and Media Studies and the Robin Roberts Center for Broadcast Media,” said Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Eric Skipper. “As an Emmy-nominated producer who has secured nearly $1 million in grant funding, she is a proven innovator in the media landscape. What sets Dr. Sawyer apart is her fiercely student-centric approach—consistently bringing her students into the professional arena as co-producers on nationally syndicated television programs.”
Sawyer is the producer and director of Books By the River, a nationally distributed public television series by American Public Television in 43 states, reaching over 259 million households. The series earned two Emmy nominations and multiple Telly Awards. She also contributed as digital content producer on After Action, a PBS national series.
Her scholarly and creative work includes the Voices of Mather project, a grant-supported oral history multimedia initiative documenting the Mather School (1868-1968) in partnership with the Reconstruction Era National Historical Park. Across her creative career at USCB, she secured nearly $1 million in grant funding and consistently integrated student collaborators into professional-level production work.
“An Emmy-nominated producer, Dr. Caroline Sawyer brings exceptional expertise in video production, sports communication, and media management, having served as Director of the Sand Shark Center for Innovative Media at USCB,” said College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences Dean Jeff Wright. “Her leadership and experience will help take the department and the Robin Roberts Broadcast Media Center to the next level.”
A two-time regional teaching award recipient, including the Freshley Early Career Teaching Award from the Southern States Communication Association, and a South Carolina Humanities Governor’s Akers Award recipient, Sawyer is recognized for her commitment to hands-on, community-engaging learning. Her scholarly work spans production pedagogy, sport communication, and gender studies, with presentations at the Broadcast Education Association, the National Communication Association, the International Communication Association, and the Southern States Communication Association.
Southeastern’s Department of Communication and Media Studies provides opportunities for focused study and research in television production, strategic communication, multi-platform journalism, and sports communication. All course work is portfolio-driven, meaning that students will generate media content to use in an online portfolio or demo reel. Acquisition of communication skills will facilitate participation in the economy, development, and culture of southeast Louisiana and beyond.
For more information about Southeastern’s Communication and Media Studies Department, visit southeastern.edu/communication.
