Featured Falcons: Dr. Bruce Finklea

What is your name and current title with the University of Montevallo?
Dr. Bruce Finklea, professor and coordinator of mass communication.

Where are you from and what city do you currently reside in?

I’m from Columbiana, and I still live there with my wife and daughter.

If you hold any degrees, what are they in and from what schools?
I have a B.S. in mass communication from UM and my Ph.D. in mass communication from the University of Alabama.

How long have you worked here? 
Fall 2025 kicks off my 15th year at UM as a faculty member.

Did you hold any previous positions here? If so, what are they?
I’ve held many different positions at UM: adjunct, instructor, assistant professor, associate professor and finally full professor!

What brought you to Montevallo?
I first fell in love with UM when I attended the Young Authors Conference when I was in elementary school. I could tell then that UM was a special place that was full of knowledge and potential, and I wanted to be a part of that. By the time I was in high school, I was so convinced that UM was where I belonged that it was the only university I applied to.

After graduating from UM and working in local TV news for a few years, I knew that teaching journalism at the college level was what I wanted to do. I always hoped that I’d end up back at UM someday. Lucky for me, UM offered me my first teaching job, and I’ve been here ever since.

What’s the best thing about working for Montevallo?
When I was a student, I loved the small classes and close relationships I formed with my professors. All these years later, those are still the things I love the most about teaching here. Building close relationships with students at a pivotal time in their lives and early careers is so rewarding.

Do you have any interesting stories about one of your favorite experiences here?
As a lifelong Trekkie, my favorite experience at UM was when I most recently taught my “Exploring Star Trek” class. I had a phenomenal group of students who engaged in deep, thoughtful discussions. Several students confided in me about how much the class meant to them and became a much-needed safe harbor. Ultimately, I felt like I learned just as much as they did over that semester.

What’s your proudest accomplishment since being at UM?
I have two. The first was when I received the UMNAA Outstanding Commitment to Teaching Award in 2021. It was such an honor to have my teaching recognized in such a high-profile way, and the award caught me completely by surprise!

My second proudest accomplishment is the publication of the third edition of my “Fundamentals of Media Effects” textbook in late 2022. I took on the project with a co-author from the previous editions, but he unfortunately passed away early in our writing process. I ended up completing the third edition mostly on my own. It was a struggle, and took several years longer than I’d planned, but I got it finished (and I owe the staff of Carmichael Library a huge thanks for handling all my interlibrary loan requests for the countless books and research articles I needed).

Are you currently working on or have you recently completed any interesting projects?
The third edition of “Fundamentals of Media Effects” was translated into Korean and published this year! It was a fun surprise when a box with copies of the Korean version arrived from my publisher.

Complete this phrase: Montevallo Means More…
To me, Montevallo means more opportunities — the opportunity to grow as a person, the opportunity to pursue your career dreams and passions and the opportunity to develop lifelong relationships with incredible members of the UM family.