Colorado State University Interim President Rick Miranda has named Professor Greg Luft, longtime chair of the University’s Department of Journalism and Media Communication, as CSU’s interim vice president for marketing and communications, effective Sept. 15.
Luft will take over the position being vacated by Yolanda Bevill, who announced her intent in August to take a new job in Texas to be closer to her family.
Luft recently completed 15 years as chair of the Department of Journalism and Media Communication and has been teaching at Colorado State University since 1988. He was born in Colorado and grew up in Weld County. He received his B.A. in the journalism department at CSU and completed his graduate work at American University in Washington, D.C. In 2011, he participated in the Academic Leadership Academy sponsored by Scripps Howard at Louisiana State University.
Professional work
Luft’s professional work before and during his academic career includes television news reporting and anchoring; documentary, educational and corporate video production; and freelance video journalism. He worked as a general assignment and investigative reporter at television stations in Wyoming, Florida, Oklahoma and Colorado. His independent documentaries and educational productions focus on television writing and production, and the behavior of journalists.
He teaches multimedia journalism study abroad courses in Urbino, Italy, during the summer and is active as an elected member of the Accrediting Council for Education in Journalism and Mass Communications. In addition to serving as a professor and department chair, he has 30 years of experience with student media, including serving as academic representative on the Rocky Mountain Student Media Corporation Board of Directors since it transitioned to independent status in 2008. He was named a CSU Alumni Association Best Teacher in 2013. He served as president of the national Broadcast Education Association from 2018-19 and on its board of directors for more than a decade. He sailed with Semester at Sea as academic dean in 2019.
“Professor Luft knows our campus and the MarComm division well, and his experience in leading a very engaged and high-profile department for the last 15 years will be invaluable in this interim role,” Miranda said. “He also comes to this role with enormous respect for our MarComm division and its work and a willingness to help provide leadership that will ensure stability and progress during the coming months.”
Miranda said the University will wait to launch a search for a permanent vice president until after a new CSU president comes on board later this year.
