Dr. Mike Dillon teaches in the areas of Print Journalism and Mass Media. He holds a Ph.D. from Penn State in Mass Communication, with a minor in history. He has authored or co-authored two books and numerous scholarly articles and book chapters. Prior to his academic career, Dillon was a newspaper reporter and won 15 awards for journalistic excellence in five separate reporting and writing categories. From 2000-2003, he was Associate Editor and Chief Writer of Primo Magazine, a national glossy. Dillon has profiled author Norman Mailer, pop legend Tony Bennett, and iconic football star Johnny Unitas. He continues to freelance and his essays have appeared in New York Newsday, the San Francisco Chronicle, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and the Dallas Morning News. Dillon advises the DU chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, and oversees publication of the Duquesne-SPJ magazine Off the Bluff. He’s received a university Presidential Scholarship Award and a Creative Teaching Award (with Margaret Patterson). He has a long-standing relationship with the September 11th Families Association and directs an internship program that each summer sends two JMA students to work at "Tribute," a museum and visitor center on the rim of Ground Zero.