Communication Studies announces Marsh Visiting ProfessorANN ARBOR—The University of Michigan’s Department of Communication Studies has named Jeffrey Ghannam of Livonia as the Marsh Visiting Professor for the fall term.

Ghannam will be teaching a new course, “Seminar in Journalism Performance: The Rule of the Law in Journalism.” “The course concentrates on how journalists have been able to chronicle social advances and influence social strides by writing about law and revealing the law’s impact on humanity,” says Ghannam.

Of his new position as Marsh Visiting Professor, Ghannam says: “I am very fortunate for the opportunity to instruct and be a part of the U-M faculty. I always envisioned myself teaching in some capacity, so this opportunity is the fulfillment of a longtime career goal.”

Ghannam has 16 years of experience in journalism. He received his B.A. degree at Michigan State University’s School of Journalism in 1985, and his M.A. in Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service. In addition, he has a J.D. from the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law.

During his career in journalism, Ghannam worked for the New York Times in Washington, D.C., as a stringer and news assistant in 1987-89, and as a staff writer and fill-in editor for the Detroit Free Press from 1989 to 1999. He has also worked for Time magazine in Cairo, Egypt, and the United Press International in Detroit.

Ghannam served as an editor and trainer at the International Center for Journalists (ICFJ), a non-profit organization in Washington, D.C., dedicated to developing independent media throughout the world. Prior to working at the ICFJ, Ghannam was a legal affairs writer for the American Bar Association Journal in Chicago.