About the George Polk School of Communications

LIU Brooklyn

The Brooklyn campus has been providing outstanding educational opportunities to students from all walks of life for more than eight decades. It is the original unit of Long Island University, one of the largest and most comprehensive private universities in the country. Known for its excellent academics, renowned faculty, comprehensive career services, state-of-the-art facilities, Division I athletics and small class size, the campus educates more than 11,000 credit-seeking and continuing education students, preparing them for meaningful careers and inspiring them to make a difference in their own communities and in the world.

The mission of our faculty is to mentor and assist students as they acquire the academic grounding, professional connections and interpersonal skills they need to succeed both on campus and in the world at large. At the George Polk School of Communications, we’re taking a dynamic and imaginative approach to providing students the skills they need to succeed in a variety of Communications-related fields. At the heart of all of the various intertwined fields that make up the Polk School is the ability to tell stories that count, whether as journalists, filmmakers, writers, producers, and creators of computer graphics and more. Make it your story at the Polk School.

LIU Post

LIU Post is located on a historic 330-acre campus located on Long Island’s renowned Gold Coast and offers an incredible learning environment that fosters academic achievement as well as student growth and development. LIU Post offers everything from world-class faculty and unique experiential learning opportunities to student clubs and NCAA Division I athletic events, where you will form lifelong friendships. The Post campus is located in an ideal location – just a 10-minute drive to the beach and a short train away from New York City.

Dean Jennifer Holmes

Dean Jennifer Holmes came to Long Island University from The New School where she was the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at The School of Drama since 2017. While there, she directed all aspects of the Drama BFA and MFA curricula, developed new initiatives at The College of Performing Arts, and directed the US premiere of Last Train to Tomorrow composed and conducted by Carl Davis at Alice Tully Hall and Shining Lights in the Lingering Night at The Great Hall, Cooper Union in partnership with 400 Years of Inequality. Dr. Holmes also initiated the Cultural Change Task Force, a cohort of faculty, students, and administrators dedicated to fostering inclusive, diverse and equitable theatre arts practice.

Dr. Holmes holds a Ph.D and an MA from New York University and a BA from Vassar College and is an internationally recognized leader in arts education. Her work as a performer and director has been seen in theatre, film, and television. She is the founder and director of Global Empowerment Theatre (GETheatre.org), an international non-profit theatre organization. She has devised theatre in India, Kenya, Myanmar, Tanzania, the United Kingdom, and the US.

Dr. Holmes served on the faculty of City College of New York, Manhattanville College, New York University, and Pace University, among others. She has contributed to the book, Theatre for Change: Education, Social Action and Therapy, and to leading journals, including the International Journal on Learning and The Teaching Artist Journal. Dr. Holmes also was the featured artist on the cover of the International Journal of Education and the Arts. In addition, Dr. Holmes has presented several papers on her work, and has led panel discussions and workshops at both national and international conferences including the Association for Theatre in Higher Education, International Drama in Education Research Institute, National Communication Association, The International Learning Conference and the Applied Theatre Conference.

Robin Hemley

Robin Hemley (Director of the Polk School of Communications, as well as Parsons Family Chair in Creative Writing and Co-Director of the MFA in Creative Writing) has published fourteen books of fiction and nonfiction and has won many awards for his writing, including fellowships from The Guggenheim Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation, three Pushcart Prizes in both Fiction and Nonfiction, the Nelson Algren Award in Fiction from the Chicago Tribune, and others. His most recent book is BORDERLINE CITIZEN: DISPATCHES FROM THE OUTSKIRTS OF NATIONHOOD (Nebraska, Penguin SE Asia, 2020). In October, 2021, Bloomsbury will publish THE ART AND CRAFT OF ASIAN STORIES: A WRITER’S GUIDE AND ANTHOLOGY, co-authored with Xu Xi. And in March of 2022, Gold Wake will publish his novel, OBLIVION, AN AFTER AUTOBIOGRAPHY. Hi the Founder of the International Conference, NonfictioNOW and is a graduate of The Iowa Writers’ Workshop and the former Director of the Nonfiction Writing Program at The University of Iowa. He has also directed the Writing Program at Yale-NUS College in Singapore, and was the Jenks Chair in Creative Writing at College of the Holy Cross.