A Look at New Faculty Members Joining Newhouse in the Fall
Meet some of the faculty members joining the Newhouse School in fall 2023.
Communications and
Magazine, News and Digital Journalism
Joshua P. Darr
Associate Professor
Darr will teach classes in political communication. He arrives from Louisiana State University, where he was associate dean of research and strategic initiatives and an associate professor in the Manship School of Mass Communication. Darr’s research focuses on campaign strategy, political knowledge, partisan polarization and local news. In 2022, he received the prestigious Andrew Carnegie Fellowship for “Partnering with Local News to Reduce Polarization,” a project that investigated ways newsrooms can earn back trust and reduce political polarization through coverage of local and national politics. In 2015, Darr earned a Ph.D. in political science from the University of Pennsylvania.
Public Relations
Kuande Hall ’10
Professor of Practice
Hall will teach classes in writing and digital content optimization. Prior to joining Newhouse, Hall managed the Social Media Training Office for the U.S. Department of Defense’s Defense Information School (DINFOS) at Fort Meade, Maryland. He developed instructional plans and provided instruction for public affairs officers on communication and social media strategy and public relations engagement. Hall served in the Marine Corps from 2001 to 2015, including duties as a public affairs supervisor, web content chief/managing editor and social media chief. Hall is an alumnus of Newhouse’s military visual journalism program.
Youngji Seo
Assistant Professor
Seo will teach classes in social media and society, and public relations research and campaigns. She arrives from Temple University, where she was an assistant professor of instruction in the Klein College of Media and Communication. Seo also taught at the University of Georgia and worked as a public relations officer at a nonprofit organization under the Korean Ministry of Gender Equality and Family. Her research interests involve psychological perspectives on strategic communication, with a focus on crisis recovery, information processing and building resilience. Seo holds Ph.D. in mass communication and journalism from the University of Georgia.
Television, Radio and Film
G. Douglas Barrett
Assistant Professor
Barrett will teach classes related to audio, including production, post-production, sound design and sound for picture. He previously taught at New Jersey City University and Salisbury University, teaching audio production, digital media and sound design at both institutions. An award-winning sound artist, Barrett describes his research as focusing on how to make audio technologies “more human,” including becoming more social, diverse and inclusive. His record of scholarly and creative work will support Syracuse University’s commitment to research excellence. Barrett has a Ph.D. in music composition from the State University of New York at Buffalo.
Benjamin Frahm
Assistant Professor
Frahm, who will teach screenwriting, moves into a tenure-track faculty role after having served as a visiting assistant teaching professor at Newhouse since 2017. His creative work includes projects developed for Imagine Entertainment, Universal Studios and Sony Pictures. Through his industry relationships, Frahm has developed a class at the Newhouse School called The Writers’ Room, where students write spec screenplays for Hulu, under the development deal of writer, director and producer Jeremy Garelick at American High. Frahm is also the co-creator of the first ever BIPOC Filmmaking Award at Newhouse.
Taylor Vaughn Lasley
Assistant Professor
Lasley will teach screenwriting at Newhouse. Before joining Syracuse, Lasley was a writer and creator for various development partners including Netflix’s “Family Reunion” and Marvel’s “Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur.” She is developing, or has developed, projects with Disney+, HBOMax, CBS, NBC and Funny or Die.
Visual Communications
Jason Webb G ’17
Assistant Professor
Webb previously worked at Syracuse University as an online learning analyst and served as an adjunct professor at Newhouse and the College of Visual and Performing Arts. He will teach classes covering subjects including motion design, character animation and augmented and virtual reality. Webb’s research focuses on extended reality in education, and his work looks to push the boundaries of technology in storytelling. Currently completing his doctorate at Syracuse University’s School of Education, Webb earned a master’s degree in television, radio and film from Newhouse.