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Staff
 Debra
L. Mason, Ph.D
Director
307D Cornell
Hall
University of Missouri-Columbia
Columbia, MO 65211
E-mail:
Phone: (573) 884-6295
Cell: (614) 313-0441
Debra L. Mason joined
the Center as director in September 2006.
A nationally recognized, award-winning and
widely published specialist in religion
journalism, Mason brings more than 25 years
of professional reporting, research and
teaching experience to the position. As
director, she aims to improve and communicate
about religious literacy in the professions.
Mason also is executive director of the
Religion Newswriters Association, a professional
association for journalists who write about
religion in mainstream media. The association
will move to the MU School of Journalism
by 2008. Mason also was the founding executive
of the RNA's nonprofit foundation, where
she helped secure more than $5.4 million
in grant funding.
Mason's major religion
and media research work includes a content
audit of religion news spanning 50 years
and the largest telephone survey of religion
journalists. She edited the recently published
Religion Reporting: A Guide to Journalism's
Best Beat, and co-edited Readings in Religion
as News, a collection of religion news from
the colonial era to the present. Mason serves
on the editorial board and is book review
editor for the Journal of Media and Religion.
Her interdisciplinary work includes ReligionLink,
where she is executive editor. ReligionLink
gives journalists tools for writing about
religion in public life, including government,
the courts, education, culture, politics
and science.
Mason also is a professor of
journalism at the MU School of Journalism.
She holds a Ph.D. in mass communication
from Ohio University in Athens, an M.S.J.
in journalism from Northwestern University
in Chicago and an M.T.S. in theological
studies from Trinity Lutheran Seminary in
Columbus, Ohio. Mason has received numerous
grants, awards and other honors for her
work. She is a member of the American Academy
of Religion, Society for the Scientific
Study of Religion, the Association for Education
in Journalism and Mass Communication, and
the Council for National Journalism Organizations,
among others.
 Amy
White
Outreach Coordinator
307B Cornell
Hall
University of Missouri-Columbia
Columbia, MO 65211
E-mail:
Phone: (573) 882-2770
Amy White joined
the Center as its outreach coordinator in September 2006. She provides
outreach to the public and academic communities
about the Center's resources, research and programs.
She also organizes events, maintains the Center's Web site and produces reports
on the Center's grant-funded projects.
White has a B.A.
in American studies, minoring in rhetoric
and communication, from University of California,
Davis. Her coursework studied how values
- through religious, racial, ethnic, gender,
generational and class identities - shape
society, with an emphasis on media and communications.
Before coming to
the Center, White was a newspaper reporter
for 12 years, the last four covering how
faith, values and ethnic traditions intersect
with individuals' lives and the global community.
White has won several reporting awards.
A Religion Newswriters Association member,
she received an RNA fellowship in 2004 and
was a finalist for religion reporter of
the year at mid-size publications in 2005.
 Debbie
Blaisdell
Office Manager
307C Cornell
Hall
University of Missouri-Columbia
Columbia, MO 65211
E-mail:
Phone: (573) 882-2866
Debbie Blaisdell,
who became the Center's office manager in
May 2006, provides the Center's administrative
and fiscal support. She brings more than
a decade of interdisciplinary university
experience to the position. Most recently
Blaisdell worked for the Center for Phytonutrient
and Phytochemical Studies and the National
Center for Soybean Biotechnology at University
of Missouri-Columbia. Before joining the
university staff, she earned her B.A. from
MU.
 Margaret
Baum
Grant Writer
307C Cornell Hall
University of Missouri-Columbia
Columbia, MO 65211
E-mail:
Phone: (573) 884-6969
Margaret (Peggy)
Baum coordinates the Center's grant research,
proposal development and submission. She came to the Center from Iowa State University,
where she served as program coordinator
for the Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women
and Politics, planning, implementing and
evaluating educational opportunities for
students and community members interested
in politics, public service and leadership.
She joined the MU Center in July 2006.
Previously, Baum worked in community resources
for Youth and Shelter Services Inc., a youth
service nonprofit in Ames, Iowa; as a technical
editor; and as a nurse. She earned a B.A.
in American studies from Grinnell College,
an M.A. in American studies from the University
of Minnesota, and a B.A. in nursing from
the University of Minnesota. She hopes her
experience working in interdisciplinary
professional and community settings will
forward the Center's research
mission.
Guy Clark
Development Specialist
307C Cornell Hall
University of Missouri-Columbia
Columbia, MO 65211
E-mail:
Phone: (573) 882-2837
Guy Clark joined the Center as its development specialist in March 2007. He coordinates fund-raising and development planning for the Center. Clark has a B.A. in political science from Westminster College in Fulton, Mo., and did graduate work in applied philosophy at Bowling Green State University in Ohio.
Clark has been an organic farmer in the Columbia area since 1991 operating Fertile Crescent Farms market garden and subscription farm. He has worked on development issues in the food and agriculture field for many years.
Clark has served on the board of directors of the Columbia Farmers' Market, including five years as president. He was named Farmers' Market Champion by the Missouri Department of Agriculture for his work in 2004. He served as the Executive Director/Garden Coordinator of the Community Garden Coalition for three years. He currently serves on the board of Sustainable Farms & Communities.
PROJECT COORDINATORS
 Brick
Johnstone, Ph.D., ABPP
Project Leader
Ellis Fischel Hospital
One Hospital Drive, DC 116.88
Columbia, MO 65212
E-mail:
Phone: (573) 882-6290 or (573) 882-2837
Brick Johnstone
is a neuropsychologist, professor and chair
of the Department of Health Psychology at
the University of Missouri-Columbia. He
received a B.A. in psychology/art history
from Duke University and a Ph.D. in clinical
psychology from the University of Georgia.
Johnstone has authored or co-authored numerous
peer-reviewed publications and is on the
editorial review boards of The Clinical
Neuropsychologist and The Journal of Clinical
Psychology in Medical Settings. Johnstone
was co-editor of the book Rehabilitation
of Neuropsychological Disorders: A Practical
Guide for Rehabilitation Professionals.
He was a Fulbright Scholar at the National
University of Ireland, Galway, in the fall
of 2004, where he studied disability issues.
He has been appointed by the governor to
serve on the Missouri State Committee of
Psychology and is past president of the
Missouri Psychological Association. Johnstone
has research interests in the impact of
religion and spirituality on the lives of
individuals with chronic disabling conditions.
He is leading the Center's religion, spirituality
and health project.
 Edmund
Lambeth, Ph.D.
Project
Leader
307C Cornell Hall
University of Missouri-Columbia
Columbia, MO 65211
E-mail:
Phone: (573) 882-2837
Edmund Lambeth,
professor emeritus at the Missouri School
of Journalism and former Center director,
originated the Washington Reporting Program
for the J-School and directed it from 1968
to 1978 after 12 years as a reporter, the
last six as a Washington correspondent for
the Gannett News Service. After serving
as a professor at Indiana University and
as director of the University of Kentucky
School of Journalism, he returned to Missouri
as associate dean for graduate studies and
research from 1987 to 1990.
His books, Committed
Journalism: An Ethic for the Profession
and Assessing Public Journalism
(edited with Phil Meyer and Esther Thorson)
reflect his interest in public affairs reporting,
ethics, media criticism and history of journalism.
A Congressional Fellow and a Nieman Fellow,
Lambeth also was presented the Thomas Jefferson
Award (1995) and the University of Missouri
Press Best Book Award (1998) by the University
of Missouri Curators. Lambeth holds B.A.
and M.A. degrees in journalism from Northwestern
University and a Ph.D. in political science
from American University. He is editing
a book on professional creativity with content
based on a series of distinguished lectures
hosted by the Center.
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