Teresa Keller
Professor of Mass Communications
Emory & Henry College
Dr. Teresa Keller, Professor of Mass Communications, has taught at Emory & Henry College for 24 years. She is co-author of Television News: A handbook for reporting, writing, shooting, editing, and producing, just released in its third edition. Under her direction in 2009, Emory & Henry College expanded its 500-watt radio station to a 9,000-watt community station carrying local, NPR, and BBC programming.
Dr. Keller currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Virginia Association of Broadcasters, as well as Glenwood Communications and Holston Valley Broadcasting Corporations. As a long-term advocate for open government, she testified before the Virginia legislature in favor of cameras in courtrooms immediately prior to the state approval in 1992.
Prior to coming to Emory & Henry, Keller worked for seven years at WCYB-TV, where she co-hosted a talk show and worked as a reporter, producer, and noon news anchor. She has served as consultant to area organizations about TV news, and conducted media buys on a congressional level and campaigns for local and regional political candidates.
In summer 2000, Dr. Keller worked at KCNC-TV in Denver through the RTNDA’s (Radio and Television News Directors’ Association) “Excellence in Journalism” program. In summer 2005, she worked in San Diego’s KGTV investigative unit. She served as a contributing reporter for WVTF public radio during summer 2009.
Emory & Henry students have honored her with their Excellence in Teaching Award, and the college alumni association presented her with the 2009 James A. Davis Faculty Award. In 2003, she was chosen as the Virginia Professor of the Year by the Carnegie Foundation and CASE.
Dr. Keller also supervises production of “Emory & Henry Reports” through EHC-TV, the department’s television operation that delivers programs to cable subscribers in the area. She has spearheaded the development of a broad-based curriculum where students gain converged training in print, electronic media, and design, in addition to the theoretical examination of mass media and society. Four of her graduates have garnered Emmy awards in television news.
"I am a child of Appalachia in Southwest Virginia. I grew up on a farm and lived in a house [that had] no running water and was heated by a coal stove. Yet, it is from this rural location – and from a wonderful college in the midst of it – that I have found tremendous opportunity to make a difference that reaches far beyond this place."