Award-Winning Faculty: Charisse L’Pree

Charisse L’Pree encourages Newhouse students to broaden their understanding about the media and the world. 

L’Pree, an associate professor of communications, developed the Newhouse Home College Experience (NHHCE), an online media literacy program focused on inclusion and diversity taken during the Syracuse University First Year Seminar. Through individual modules and group discussion, the NHHCE encourages Newhouse students to reflect on their favorite media, analyze its messages and impact and apply the insights to their future work in the communications industry. 
 
“My larger goal is and has always been to encourage media literacy through self-reflection and a connection to the social practices of the past,” L’Pree said. “If we can understand why we feel and act the way we do, we can better tackle the implicit and collective processes of marginalization.”  

Her work developing the media literacy program has made such an impact that she was recognized this past spring with the Syracuse University Chancellor’s Citation for Excellence Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Student Experience and University Initiatives. 

“It was an honor to be recognized,” said L’Pree who began developing the program in 2021. “I have worked hard to streamline it and ensure that it adds value for students and instructors.” 

“Learning isn’t easy, and these topics can be hard for everyone—myself included—so the award inspires me to keep trying,” she added.  
 
Trained in social psychology and critical media studies, L’Pree is also working on Make America Dream, a repository of American Dreams in the 21st century. The interactive website makeamericadream.com features over 100 clips of diverse American Dreams and a book that brings together interviews with over 200 people about the American Dream.

Additionally, her continued research on diversity and satire is an extension of her 2023 book, “Diversity and Satire: Laughing at Processes of Marginalization.” Projects in this area includes an analysis of stand-up comedians who identify as disabled and their social media content; scrutinizing anti-classism satire in The Onion; and producing a podcast about “Saturday Night Live” satire.  

Through her teaching and research, L’Pree is committed to encouraging students to rethink their relationship to media and expanding diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility initiatives, as well as media literacy initiatives and education, throughout Newhouse and Syracuse University. 
 
Her approach “emphasizes the value of diversity—recognizing the variety of humanity by encouraging individuals to dive deeper into the ‘why’ of their own stories,” she said. “I consider it an honor to reach all first-year students at Newhouse to foster the tools to think about these topics early and often.”   

This is the first in a series of four stories about Newhouse faculty honored by Syracuse University in 2024 for teaching and research excellence.