Eric Stringfellow - Jackson Free Press

Thirty-two years after graduating with a bachelor's degree in mass communications from Jackson State University in 1982, Eric Stringfellow is now the interim head of the department.

Stringfellow, 53, has served as the executive director of JSU's University Communications since November 2012. University Communications oversees the university's marketing and public relations departments, sports information, TV and radio stations, and its website. He is also the university's chief spokesperson.

While serving as the interim department head of the Department of Mass Communications, Stringfellow's focus will be creating a strong collaborative relationship between the Department of Mass Communications and University Communications, as well as improving student instruction.

"That's going to be really important, because the most important tool in the media is experience," Stringfellow said. "We just want to make sure our students leave knowing how to edit video, how to shoot video, how to write a news story, how to post stories online and how to be comfortable in front of the camera, as well as behind it."

A 1978 graduate of Provine High School, Stringfellow has worked at newspapers in Jackson, Cleveland, Ohio, and Danville, Ill. He was also a journalism professor at JSU from 1991 to 1999.

Stringfellow, who wrote for the Blue and White Flash as a JSU student, is hoping JSU mass communications majors will benefit from the department's relationship with University Communications.

"When you look at how the media landscape is changing or has changed, we just want to make sure our instruction is consistent with the changes out there," Stringfellow said. "As they (students) go into this new landscape and new job market, we just want to make sure we are preparing them for that."

He hopes the relationship will create synergy and impact student education.

"We have all of these assets right here on campus," Stringfellow said. "We just want to make sure we create a system where they're exposed to all of it."

Stringfellow plans on serving as the interim department head until JSU finds a new leader. He will then help the new department head during the department's transition into a School of Journalism and Mass Communications.

This story is updated to reflect corrections. A previous version misstated the dates Eric Stringfellow obtained his bachelor's degree and taught at Jackson State University. The previous story also misstated that Stringfellow worked at a newspaper in Danvers, Ill. He worked in Danville.