Glenda Balas

Dr. Glenda Balas is Professor and former Dean of Liberal Arts and Sciences at the University of North Texas at Dallas.  Prior to joining UNT Dallas, Dr. Balas was Professor and Department Chair of the Communication and Journalism Department at the University of New Mexico. Dr. Balas holds an M.B.A. degree from Eastern New Mexico University (1989) and a Ph.D. in Communication Studies from the University of Iowa (1999). 

Her background includes university teaching and administration, as well as 18 years of professional experience in public broadcasting, public relations, nonprofit development, and marketing.  She has academic interests in international media, border studies, and U.S. public broadcasting.  Her research efforts frequently center on the analysis and critique of public media institutions.  She has studied media systems in Mexico, Canada, and Africa and spent time in the Czech Republic where she focused on Radio Prague and Czech Public Television.

Dr. Balas is a Fulbright Scholar, traveling to Halifax, Nova Scotia, in Spring 2009 to conduct comparative research on public service broadcasting in Canada and the United States.  She has produced a number of video documentaries on communication history and theories; her media research has been published in a range of communication and journalism journals; and she is the author of a book about the intellectual history of U.S. public broadcasting.  Dr. Balas is also an award-winning teacher who has been recognized for her work with freshman learning communities, experiential learning, and international service learning.