McHendry named Magis Core director, Timms Professor

Creighton Provost Mardell Wilson, EdD, RDN, has named Guy McHendry, PhD, associate professor of Communication Studies, as the next Timms Professor and Magis Core director. The appointment was effective Jan. 1.

McHendry had been serving as interim director of the Magis Core, and previously served as associate director and in an acting capacity during the sabbatical of then-director the Rev. Tom Simonds, SJ, EdD.

“The Magis Core is truly a distinctive feature of the Creighton undergraduate experience,” said Provost Wilson. “I look forward to working with Dr. McHendry as he explores opportunities for continued enhancements that are rewarding for both the students and the faculty.”

McHendry’s research focuses on rhetoric, with an emphasis on contemporary discourses of surveillance and security. His co-edited book Tracing Rhetoric and Material Life won the 2018 Tarla Rai Peterson Book Award in Environmental Communication.

He recently signed a contract with Parlor Press for his next book, Data, which examines how our lives, both corporeal and digital, produce data for others to consume, analyze and use. McHendry teaches a variety of courses and has served as the course director for COM 101 and has worked on various efforts to develop, implement and assess the Magis Core curriculum.

Faith Kurtyka, PhD, associate professor of English, will continue as associate director. She previously served on the Magis Core Curriculum Committee and has acted as an assessment day leader for Contemporary Composition and Designated Written Communication.

The Magis Core curriculum is celebrating its 10th anniversary in 2023, and McHendry and Kurtyka have shared with Provost Wilson initial plans for leading the core into its second decade.

“Those plans include an innovative and thoughtful approach to assessment that engages faculty expertise and streamlines processes to focus on the most significant learning outcomes for each component,” Wilson said. “They also plan to expand support and tools for faculty teaching in the core.

“Please join me in congratulating Dr. McHendry and Dr. Kurtyka.”