
Matthew J. Kushin, Ph.D. – Matt for short – is a professor in the Department of Mass Communication at Shepherd University and a senior fellow in the Bonnie & Bill Stubblefield Institute for Civil Political Communication.
He’s an award-winning educator and scholar.
He’s a professor, author, and blogger who specializes in helping social media educators Teach Confident in today’s digital landscape. He help them build engaging classes that prepare students for careers as professional communicators today.
He’s taught university-level social media classes for over a decade, is the author of the book Teach Social Media: A Plan for Creating a Course Your Students Will Love, and writes Social Media Syllabus, a popular blog and resource tool for social media educators.
He is the concentration coordinator of the Strategic Communication concentration in the department. Classes he teaches or has taught include: Social Media, Politics & Social Media, Principles of PR, Strategic Campaigns, Persuasion & Message Design, Communication Theories, Communication Research Methods, Applied Communication Research, Communication & New Media, Writing Across Platforms, Introduction to Mass Communication, Public Speaking, New Communication Technology.
Dr. Kushin’s research focuses on social media, politics, and civic life. He has presented to audiences internationally on the subject via the United States State Department.
He has a growing interest in self-regulation and metacognition, particularly as it relates to mindfulness, meditation, and breathwork.
Before joining Shepherd University in the fall of 2012, he was an assistant professor at Utah Valley University.
Dr. Kushin is the former Director of Global Content Strategy for the ICBO One App. He held this role for the partner organizations of the International Congress of Behavioral Optometry. Kushin helped plan, secure sponsorship for, and launch the ICBO One social mobile app for the global behavioral optometry community. He also planned and executed the app strategy for partner events throughout the world.

