FIYou: Fred Blevens

Name: Fred Blevens

Hometown: Vincennes, Ind.

Job Title/Department: Professor and Honors Fellow, Department of Journalism and Broadcasting

Campus: Biscayne Bay Campus

In a nutshell: I teach courses in media law, history, ethics and reporting. I also teach a news literacy course in The Honors College.

Number of years at FIU: 4

What do you enjoy most about your job?

Teaching is a vicarious experience and I get the most pleasure from seeing students accept unique challenges and succeed. Teachers achieve success by inspiring success and there’s no better way to do that than by creating experiential learning opportunities for students – and doing it with a little humor.

What do you think faculty/staff and students should know about your department?

The Department of Journalism and Broadcasting has a student body that’s engaged and spirited with little fear of critical thought. They are as demanding as they are appreciative. Like with most students at FIU, they struggle to balance families and work with a great deal of ambition and perseverance.

Where is your favorite spot on campus? Why?

At BBC, nothing beats the bay shoreline. It’s quiet and refreshing. At MMC, the plaza between the Graham Center, Green Library and PC. Even with the foot traffic, it’s the quietest place on campus.

If there is one thing you wish everyone knew about FIU, what would it be?

This is a campus with perhaps the most unusual student profile in the world. Students come from distant continents. They come from distant parts of this continent. They come from islands. They come from all parts of Florida. No other university can write such a narrative.

Family snapshot:

My wiife Charlene is FIU’s interim controller. We’ve been married 26 years. My son Robert is a junior at FIU, majoring in social work. He plays guitar and volunteers regularly at Friends of Greyhounds.

Word that best describes you: Inquisitive.

First paying job: Making and delivering flower arrangements.

Favorite TV show: “The Daily Show with John Stewart.”

What is playing on your iPod? The Randy Rogers Band and Marcia Ball.

Your proudest accomplishment:

Being named National Journalism Teacher of the Year by the Freedom Forum in 2001.

What do you do when you are not working at FIU?

I fly kites, go to the beach, read and do major house projects. In the summer, I teach at the Urban Journalism Workshop for high school students at San Antonio College and serve as associate director of the Peace Sullivan/James Ansin High School Workshop in Journalism and New Media at the University of Miami.