Marcus Messner, Ph.D.
Marcus Messner, Ph.D., is the executive associate dean for strategic initiatives and academic affairs in the College of Humanities and Sciences. He is responsible for leading CHS strategic initiatives and curricular innovation with a special focus on the area of artificial intelligence. Dr. Messner began his career at VCU in 2007 as an assistant professor of journalism and was tenured and promoted to associate professor in 2014 and full professor in 2019. He previously served as director of the Richard T. Robertson School and joined the CHS dean’s office as associate dean for faculty and academic affairs in 2021. He has been named an Eminent Scholar in CHS and honored with VCU's Distinguished Teaching Award.
Dr. Messner's main research focus has been on the influence and adoption of emerging technologies in journalism, public relations and health communication. His research studies have won top paper awards at the conferences of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication and the International Communication Association as well as at the International Public Relations Research Conference. Interviews with him have appeared in various international and national media, such as the Associated Press, Agence France-Presse, Reuters, Bloomberg, National Public Radio, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post.
He received his Ph.D. in Communication from the University of Miami.
Visit Dr. Messner's faculty page in the Robertson School of Media and Culture.