King's College - Colleges & Programs

Michael Berry is currently an instructor in the department of Mass Communications at King’s College. Mike received both a B.A. and M.A. in Speech Communication at Texas Tech University. He has been at King’s for over 21 years. Prior to coming to King’s, Mike taught at the University of Kansas and Illinois State University.

During the time that Mike served as the head coach of the highly successful King’s College debate team (1989-2009), he lead them to numerous national tournament appearances. He was elected to the national committees of the National Debate Tournament, Cross Examination Association and American Debate Association. In 2000, he received the Robert Lambert Service Award as the National coach of the year from the American Debate Association. Upon the discontinuation of the debate team, Mike became co-chair of the Effective Oral Communication section of the Core Curriculum at King’s College.

Mike’s research interests include persuasion, political campaign communication, freedom of speech and deception. He has presented numerous papers to groups such as the National Communication Association, American Forensic Association and the Eastern Speech Communication Association. He has served as a consultant to a number of high school debate programs. He has appeared on television a number of times especially during presidential campaigns. He has also reviewed papers for the Political Communication division of NCA as well as acted as a consultant for various campaigns. During each presidential election cycle, Mike serves as a host for “DEBATE WATCH”, a national non-partisan effort to get more people involved watching the campaign debates. He has recently published a chapter in the book Heroes and Philosophy on the ethics of deception.

James P. Dolhon is a Professor of Speech Communication and Co-Chair of the Speech Program. He has served the institution for nineteen years, teaching the basics of human communication in many ways and forms. Alongside the traditional student population, Dr. Dolhon also works with students who manifest learning differences through the Academic Skills Center, non-traditional adult learners through the Life Long Learning Center, as well as reticent students within the Speech Program.

Dr. Dolhon received his B.A. from the University of Scranton in Communication, with a minor in psychology. He procured his M.A. from Columbia University, Teacher’s College in Communication, Computing, & Technology in Education. And he was awarded his PhD from The Pennsylvania State University in Speech Communication. His graduate work afforded him the opportunity to explore twin concentrations in both intrapersonal and mediated communication.

Dr. Dolhon has over two dozen publications of various types in the fields of differentiated teaching and learning styles, intrapersonal communication, videoconferencing, and communication pedagogy. Over the years, he has been invited to give upwards of five dozen presentations at the international, national, regional, and state level. He has presented at conference venues hosted by the International Conference for College Teaching and Learning, the National Association for Developmental Education, the Association of Educational and Communication Technology, and the International Society for Exploring Teaching and Learning, for whom he has served as a conference proposal reviewer for a decade. Current research interests include the intrapersonal origins of human communication ecologies across real world contexts.

Ray Gamache is an assistant professor of journalism in the department of Mass Communications at King’s College. Ray received his Ph.D. from the Philip Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland-College Park in 2008. Prior to coming to King’s, Ray taught at liberal arts colleges in Minnesota and New Hampshire for more than twenty years. He earned his B.A. and M.A. in English from West Virginia University. He began working in journalism for his hometown newspaper, the Nashua Telegraph, while in high school. He will represent the department in developing the Times-Leader online community news site.

Ray is the author of several books, including A History of Sports Highlights: Replayed Plays from Edison to ESPN, which was published in 2010 by McFarland Publishers, and The Water Is Wide: Notre Dame College’s Journey, 1976-2000, published by the Luceat Press. He has also edited two books, including Under the Bridge: Stories and Poems by Manchester’s Homeless and The Living Fire: Selected Poetry of Leo E. O’Neil, 1973-1997. Ray’s research interests include sports media and journalism history. He has two book chapters that will be published in the next year, including “Confronting the Canon: ESPN’s ‘Greatest Highlight with Chris Berman’ Contest and the Manufacturing of History,” which is being published in A Mirror of Our Culture: Sport and Society in America by the St. Norbert College Press, and “Sports as Spectacle: Early Athletes as Popular Cultural Icons,” in American History through American Sports: From Colonial Lacrosse to Extreme Sports, published by Praeger Press.

Ray has published journal articles in American Journalism, the Journal of Sports Media, Studies in Symbolic Interaction and West Virginia Philological Papers. He reviews manuscripts for American Journalism and the Sports Interest Group of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication; he is also a member of the American Journalism Historians Association and the North American Society for the Sociology of Sport.

Karen Mercincavage is Assistant Technical Professor and heads the Visual Communications track in the Mass Communications Department. She received her B.A. in Advertising from The Pennsylvania State University and her M.A. in Communication Arts from Marywood University.

Ms. Mercincavage serves as Membership Secretary for the American Advertising Federation (AAF), Northeast Pennsylvania Chapter and is a member of the AIGA, the professional association for design, International Communication Association (ICA) and National Communication Association (NCA). She is a member of the King’s College Media Board, co-advisor for the Department’s National Honor Society, co-advisor for The Crown, and co-director of a national grant for WRKC radio.

Ms. Mercincavage’s communications background includes graphic design experience in newspaper, advertising, and healthcare communications. She has most recently worked as a senior multimedia designer in the Marketing Communications Department of Blue Cross of Northeastern Pennsylvania. She continues working as a freelance graphic designer and has collaborated with businesses and college faculty to produce targeted communications materials for local and national publication. She is a freelance designer for CSS Industries, Inc., a national manufacturer of seasonal consumer products distributed to large retail chains.

Ms. Mercincavage has recently co-presented a study on how visual narratives may constitute a ritual performance in social networking websites at the 2011 International Communication Conference in Boston, MA, and presented a study examining how social media can be used to overcome stigma associated with HIV/AIDS, at the 2010 National Conference on Health Communication, Marketing and Media, sponsored by the CDC.

Michelle Schmude is Chairperson of the Mass Communications Department and heads the Advertising track. She graduated from the University of Pittsburgh with a bachelor’s degree in business and history. In 1999, she graduated from Point Park University in Pittsburgh with an International Master of Business Administration degree. Michelle recently received her Ed.D. from Wilkes University.

Upon her graduation from Pitt, Dr. Schmude served as a marketing associate with QED Communication and was an account executive for TCI, Media Services. Dr. Schmude held various positions in the admission office at Point Park University including the dean of full-time admission and was responsible for all admissions-related marketing and advertising. In addition to her role as Chairperson of the Mass Communications Department, Dr. Schmude serves the college as Director of College Marketing and Advertising at King’s.

Dr. Schmude has been selected to serve on the Marketing Task Force for the Association of Independent Colleges and Universities of Pennsylvania. She also serves on the following committees for the college: Catholic Identity, Diversity, Enrollment Management, and the Web Team. She is a member of the American Advertising Federation, Northeast Pennsylvania Chapter and is a faculty advisor for Lambda Pi Eta, the Mass Communications Department’s National Honor Society and the Media Club.

She presented in February at the Congregation of Holy Cross 2011 Communications Summit at the University of Notre Dame. Dr. Schmude has presented numerous conference sessions on marketing and advertising in higher education institutions and admission trends at the Pennsylvania Association for College Admission Counselors Annual Conferences and the College Board Fall Counselors Workshop and Regional Forum. In 2009, Dr. Schmude along with Ms. Isabel Balsamo and Ms. Tish Last had their conference proposals accepted for the Governor’s Conference on Higher Education and the Global Landscapes Conference: Business, Ethics, and Sustainability.

Cathy Donnelly has been employed in the broadcast industry since 1979, mostly in the Philadelphia and Wilkes-Barre Scranton areas, with experience in many radio formats, including news, talk, country, classic hits, top 40, and even sports. She earned a BA in Communications from Temple University.

Joseph Giomboni has worked in higher education public relations since 2004. A former sports correspondent with The Citizens' Voice, Giomboni graduated with Master of Fine Arts degree in creative writing from Wilkes University with a focus in screenwriting. He is currently submitting his original spec script RIPPLE to agents and producers.

Cynthia Hagan graduated with a BFA from Kutztown University in 1995. Ms. Hagan has been employed in the graphic design industry for 16 years. She is currently a freelance graphic designer for various local companies including Paper Magic Group, a leader in design, marketing and manufacturing of the seasonal products industry.

Sue Henry has been a working member of the media for more than 25 years, with experience in radio and the newspaper industry. She is a talk show host for WILK, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton/Hazleton. She is a graduate of King's College with bachelor’s degrees in English and mass communications.

Bill Keating is a graduate of the King’s College Mass Communications department and has taught at the college since 1995. He earned an M.S. in educational technology from Misericordia University and is currently the Managing Director of Academic & Instructional Technology at King’s.

Pete Phillips graduated with a BA in Mass Communications in 2005 from King’s College. He is currently completing an MFA in Creative Writing at Wilkes University.

Ned Rowan has been a professional photographer in the Wilkes-Barre Area since 1976. Mr. Rowan has taught Photography in the Mass Communications Department since graduating from King's in 1977.

Becky Sinke, a 1997 graduate of Kutztown University, is currently employed by New Age Media. As a production manager for Fox 56, The CW, and My Network TV, she oversee all areas of production for commercials, documentaries, live productions and weekly half hour shows.

Scott J. Weiland, Ph.D. is the Senior Vice President, Commercial Group of the Semian Real Estate Group. Prior to serving the Semian Real Estate Group, Dr. Weiland served as Vice President of Operations of The Greater Scranton Chamber of Commerce. He serves on the Institute for Public Policy and Economic Development Advisory Board, the Voluntary Action Center Board and several others. He received a Doctor of Philosophy degree in human development from Marywood University, a Master of Science degree in telecommunications from Kutztown University, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in mass communications from King’s College. He resides in Clarks Summit, PA with his wife, Sunny and their son, Scott Alexander.

Related Information