1979 to present
 

Middle Tennessee State University: Professor of Journalism and Mass Communication (1984-present) and Director, Office of Communication Research (1988-present). Associate Professor (1979-84). Tenured (1982). Now serving under post-retirement senior faculty program.

2005

Adjunct Professor Church History, Seabury-Western Theological Seminary,
Evanston, IL.

2004 to 2006

Lilly Endowment Curate, Church of the Transfiguration (Episcopal), Palos Park, IL.

1973 to 1979

University of Tennessee at Nashville: Associate Professor of Journalism and English (1978-1979). Assistant Professor (1973-78). Tenured (1978).

2004 to present

Chair, Board of Trustees, Episcopal Campus Ministry, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL.

1996 to 2001

Member, Board of Trustees, Seabury-Western Theological Seminary (Episcopal), Evanston, IL.

1992 to 1998

Survey Research Adviser, the Freedom Forum First Amendment Center at Vanderbilt University.

1994

Visiting Professor of International Communication at the Franco-American Center for International Management, University of Caen, France.

2004

Founder’s Medal for First Honors, Divinity, Vanderbilt University’s highest academic honor, awarded for master’s in theological studies.

2003

Roster of Scholars, Fulbright Senior Specialist Program

1998 to 1999

Chair, Pulitzer Prize Jury, General Nonfiction (with Jack Miles, The Getty Museum; Patricia Limerick, University of Colorado). Selection: John McPhee, Annals of the former world

1997

Recipient, the Worcester Prize for Best Article of 1996, presented at the meeting of World Association for Public Opinion Research for a study of the reasons Israeli Arabs and Jews and Americans fail to speak up and say what is on their minds:

Wyatt, Robert O., Katz, Elihu, Levinsohn, Hanna, & Al-Haj, Majid. (1996). The dimensions of expression inhibition: Perceptions of obstacles to free speech in three cultures. International Journal of Public Opinion Research, 8, 229-247.

1993 to 1994

Chair, Pulitzer Prize Jury, General Nonfiction (with Roger Rosenblatt, The New Republic; Jeffery Paine, The Wilson Quarterly). Selection: David Remnick, Lenin’s tomb: The last days of the Soviet Empire.

1994

Listed in Who's who in America.

1992

Recipient, Sigma Delta Chi Distinguished Service Award for Research About Journalism for 1991, presented by the Society of Professional Journalists for a study of public support for media and individual free speech rights in the United States:

Wyatt, Robert O. (1991). Free expression and the American public: A survey commemorating the 200th anniversary of the First Amendment. (Washington, DC: American Society of Newspaper Editors).

1990 to 1991

Chair, Pulitzer Prize Jury, General Nonfiction (with Annie Dillard, writer; Richard Rhodes, writer). Selection: Bert Hölldobler and Edward O. Wilson, The ants.

1984 to 1985

Chair, Pulitzer Prize Jury, General Nonfiction (with Richard Lingeman, Executive Editor, The Nation; Diane Johnson, Professor of English, University of California, Davis). Selection: Studs Terkel, The “good war.”

1979 to 1980

Member, Pulitzer Prize Jury, General Nonfiction (with Norman Cousins, Chair, The Saturday Review; Herbert Mitgang, The New York Times). Selection: Douglas R. Hofstedter, Gödel, Escher, Bach: An eternal golden braid.

1988 to present

(on indefinite
leave)

Founding Director, Office of Communication Research, Middle Tennessee State University. Founder and budgetary head for unit that administers the Middle Tennessee Poll and includes three quarter-time faculty research associates and a graduate assistant. The polling lab has 26 networked computer-assisted telephone interviewing stations.

1998 to present

Founding Director, Middle Tennessee Poll, a twice-yearly faculty-supervised, student-administered tracking survey of approximately 1,200 area residents, regarding quality of life; confidence in government, business, community organizations, and media; support for free expression; and other issues. Results can be viewed at: http://www.mtsu.edu/mtpoll.

1977 to 1979

Coordinator of Public Service, College of Arts and Sciences, University of Tennessee at Nashville. Coordinated public relations, developed conferences, administered continuing education program.

1978 to 1993

Nashville Tennessean: Book Editor, columnist, and critic. Wrote news, features, and weekly column; edited Sunday book section.

1979 to 1981

Weekly commentator, WPLN-FM, Nashville's public radio station.

1973, 1970

Ph.D., M.A., Northwestern University, Evanston, IL (English)

2003

M.T.S., Divinity School, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN (Pastoral Studies)

2002

Certificate of Study, Seabury-Western Theological Seminary, Evanston, IL (Anglican Studies)

1977

M.S., University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (Communication)

1968

B.A., University of the South, Sewanee TN (English)

2002-2003

Seabury-Western Theological Seminary: Nationwide image and reputation study surveying alumni in preparation for capital campaign.

1999-2000

Seabury-Western Theological Seminary: Nationwide image and reputation study surveying Episcopal bishops and key clergy on priorities in seminary education.

1998 to present

Director, Middle Tennessee Poll, a twice-yearly tracking survey.

1996

Seabury-Western Theological Seminary: Nationwide image and reputation study surveying Episcopal bishops on priorities in seminary education.

1995

Seabury-Western Theological Seminary: Feasibility study for a major continuing-education effort.

1994

Dallas Morning News/Freedom Forum First Amendment Center: Technical consultant for religion-news readership project.

1992 to 1998

Freedom Forum First Amendment Center at Vanderbilt University: Survey research consultant for reports authored by the Center’s resident scholars.

Questionnaire design, analysis and report writing for the following Center publications:

World's apart: How the distance between science and journalism threatens America's future by Jim Hartz and Rick Chappell (1998).

America’s team: The odd couple – A report on the relationship between the media and the military by Frank Aukofer and William P. Lawrence (1995).

Nothing sacred: Journalism, politics and public trust in a tell-all age by Beverly Kees and Bill Phillips (1994).

The headline vs. the bottom line: Mutual distrust between business and the news media by Mike Haggerty and Wallace Rasmussen (1993).

Under the microscope: The relationship between physicians and the news media by Rita Rubin and Harrison L. Rogers Jr. (1993).

Bridging the gap: Religion and the news media by John Dart and Jimmy Allen (1992).

Freedom Forum Reports are available from the Freedom Forum First Amendment Center, 1208 18th Ave. S., Nashville, TN 37212. All studies received wide media exposure; the religion survey received two-page spread in U.S. News and World Report (Sept. 20, 1993, 20-21).

1995 to present

Served on development and capital campaign committees for successful efforts at Seabury-Western Theological Seminary, Evanston, IL, and St. Ann’s Episcopal Church, Nashville.

1985 to 1986

John Seigenthaler Chair of Excellence in First Amendment Studies, Middle Tennessee State University. Helped develop idea and served on fundraising committee for this $2.4 million chair honoring the former Publisher of The Tennessean, the former Editorial Director of USA TODAY, and the founding Chair of the Freedom Forum First Amendment Center at Vanderbilt University.

1996

Journalism education, the First Amendment imperative and the changing media marketplace, sponsored by the John Seigenthaler Chair of First Amendment Studies. Co-chaired with David Eason, Director of Graduate Studies. Guest speakers included James Carey, Leo Bogart, Jay Rosen, Ellen Wartella, Linda Steiner, Clifford Christians, Joseph Turow, Lee Becker, Ed Lambeth, Robert Blanchard, Karen Brown, Reese Cleghorn, Lana Rakow and Trevor Brown.

1995

Designing a general-interest course in First Amendment studies, sponsored by the John Seigenthaler Chair of First Amendment Studies. Co-chaired with David Eason, Director of Graduate Studies. Guest speakers included Larry Gross, John Durham Peters, M. Mark Miller, Patricia Aufterheide, Carolyn Dyer, and Linda Steiner.

1994

The enigma of the public: First Amendment legacies, contemporary questions, sponsored by the John Seigenthaler Chair of First Amendment Studies. Co-chaired with David Eason, Director of Graduate Studies. Primary speakers were Benjamin I. Page, Northwestern University; Todd Gitlin, University of California, Berkeley; and John Durham Peters, University of Iowa. Attended by more than 80 communication scholars.

1993

The old news, the new news, and the First Amendment, sponsored by the John Seigenthaler Chair of First Amendment Studies. Co-chaired with David Eason, Director of Graduate Studies. Primary speakers were Daniel Hallin, University of California, San Diego; Richard Campbell, University of Michigan; and James Squires, media consultant and former editor, Chicago Tribune. Attended by more then 60 communication scholars.

1992

The new New Journalism and the old First Amendment, sponsored by the Seigenthaler Chair of First Amendment Studies. Co-chaired with David Eason, Director of Graduate Studies. Principal speaker was James Carey, Columbia University, followed by a series of panel discussions. Attended by more than 60 news professionals and scholars.

1996-2000

Academic Master Plan Steering Committee

1998-99

Chair, University E-Mail Policy and Procedure Committee

1995-1999

Advisory Council, Albert Gore Sr. Research Center

1994-97

University Graduate Council

1994-present

College Planning Committee

1991

Moscow State University, Russia: Initiated student exchange program.

1992

University of Caen, France: Initiated contact between the Franco-American Center of International Commerce at Caen and the College of Business at Middle Tennessee, leading to exchange of five students each year. Served as first visiting professor of international communication at Caen.

1976 to present

Traveled repeatedly to India, Russia, France, Great Britain, and Israel, often to work on joint research projects or lecture; visits to other European countries, Hong Kong, and China. Visiting Professor of International Communication, University of Caen, France, spring 1994. Maintain close personal and academic contacts in France, India, and Israel.