Bio

Michael Ray Smith is professor of communication and author; most of his work concerns journalism, Christianity and media. For fall 2019 he was the distinguished visiting professor of journalism at LCC International, Lithuania. In addition, he is part of the graduate faculty at Regent University, Virginia Beach. Most recently he taught Community, Citizen and Civic Journalism and Historical and Rhetorical Methods online in the doctoral program.
     In late 2015 College Media Advisers presented Smith with Noel Ross Strader Memorial Award for exercising the principle of freedom of the press, as the award says, "at some risk to personal or professional welfare." In addition, he is in the Fulbright Specialist.
He taught in Tennessee at Lee University after a season in South Florida, not far from the posh island of Palm Beach. He spent 11 years at Campbell University, 30 miles south of Raleigh, leading their student newspaper and web site to state and national recognition. In 2012 journalismdegree.org named him one of the best 50 journalism educators in the nation.
     Also in 2012, Campbell University selected Smith for the first teaching excellence award for all the six schools of the university, which includes law and pharmacy.
     World Journalism Institute named him the John McCandlish Phillips Scholar for 2011. Philips was the internationally-known reporter for The New York Times in the 1960s.
Smith earned a Ph.D. from Regent University, two master's degrees, one from Penn State University, and earned a B.A. from the University of Maryland and an A.A. from Prince Georges Community College. He has taught at state and private universities, at graduate and undergraduate schools and served as a professor of journalism, professor of communication studies and professor of mass communication at various institutions.
     An award-winning journalist and photographer, he has been quoted in the New York Times, The Boston Globe, The Chicago Tribune, The Philadelphia Inquirer, USA Today, The Arizona Republic, The Christian Science Monitor, The Louisville Courier-Journal, Editor & Publisher, Christianity Today, Writer's Digest and many other periodicals. He has been a guest on radio and TV including French TV 24, a Paris-based television broadcast, and online sites such as Ourblook.com.
     He has written eight books, nine peer-reviewed journal articles, seven chapters for books such as "Words and Witnesses" and hundreds of articles for the popular press. His latest article is "Bill Clinton’s Former Prosecutor Speaks On Public School Policies."