Summer Hill-Vinson teaches writing and media law courses, and she especially enjoys helping students become more effective communicators for wherever life takes them.
Biography
Summer Hill-Vinson earned her Ph.D. in journalism in 2011 from the University of Missouri and both her master’s and bachelor’s degrees in journalism from the University of Mississippi, where she was one of the first graduates of the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College. Prior to returning to Mississippi, she taught journalism courses at the University of Missouri and Middle Tennessee State University. Hill-Vinson’s research area is journalism during the civil rights movement, primarily the actions and motivations of media organizations. Her dissertation examined the launch of serene Southern Living magazine during the tumultuous 1960s in Birmingham, Alabama, using archival documents to piece together the narrative. Her graduate education was interdisciplinary with focuses on history and politics in the American South.
Hill-Vinson’s experience outside academia is largely in editing. Prior to graduate school, she was a production editor in Atlanta, and she was a grammar editor for a technology company in the early 2000s. In 2020, Hill-Vinson created OxfordSpeak, an online journalism source that she uses to explore local news trends with students. It was a valuable data tracking resource during the COVID-19 pandemic. She is currently writing a book of essays about her experiences with premature babies hospitalized in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and the aftermath of parenting preemies. When not on campus or writing, Hill-Vinson has a wide range of hobbies, including attending local government meetings, reading, buying books she may never read, gardening, hiking, traveling, watching sports, cooking, and, best of all, parenting.
Courses Taught
- JOUR 102 Introduction to Multimedia Writing
- JOUR 371 Communications Law
Education
Ph.D. Journalism, University of Missouri-Columbia (2011)