Roy Alden Atwood, Ph.D. President and Senior Fellow of Humanities

Ph.D. in Mass Communication, University of Iowa, 1984 M.A. in Religion, Westminster Theological Seminary (PA), 1977 B.A. in Philosophy, Dordt College (IA), 1975

Dr. Atwood is the President of New Saint Andrews College and a Senior Fellow of Humanities. He serves on the College's Executive Council. He served as the Dean of the College from 2000-2004. He received a B.A. in Philosophy from Dordt College (Iowa), a Master of Arts in Religion from Westminster Theological Seminary, Philadelphia, and a Ph.D. in Mass Communication from the University of Iowa.

He taught journalism and media studies at Gonzaga University, Spokane, Washington, from 1981 to 1984, and was a faculty member of the School of Communication at the University of Idaho from 1984 to 2000. He served as director of the School from 1995 to 2000. He also served as the University of Idaho's Vice Chair of Faculty Council from 1990 to 1991.

Dr. Atwood has been a Senior Fulbright Scholar twice, first to the Institute of Journalism, Warsaw University, Poland, in 1991, and then to the Institute for Communication Research, Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education (renamed North West University, 2004), South Africa, in 1998. He was a visiting International Development and Training (IDAT) Professor at Egerton University, Kenya, East Africa, in 1992, and conducted funded media policy research in Poland, the Czech Republic, and Hungary in 1995.

Dr. Atwood has received national awards, including the Leadership Award from the Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools (TRACS) in 2009, the 1993 Faculty Research Award from the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication's History Division, the Division's Distinguished Service Award in 1992, and the Division's Warren C. Price Student Research Award in 1980. He was the Head of AEJMC's History Division between 1988 and 1991. He was a member of the Board of Directors of the American Journalism Historians Association from 1987 to 1991, and hosted the AJHA national convention in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, in 1990. He received a National Endowment for the Humanities fellowship at the Summer Institute for Quantitative History at the Newberry Library in Chicago, IL, in 1980.

His scholarly articles and reviews have appeared in Acta Academica (South Africa), American Journalism, The Annals of Iowa, Canadian Journal of Communication, Christian Scholars Review, Communicare (South Africa), Ecquid Novi (South Africa), Journal of Communication Inquiry, Journalism Educator, Journalism History, Journalism Quarterly, Journalism Studies (England), Journal of Communication, Journal of Mass Media Ethics, Media, Culture & Society (England), and Public Relations Review. He has published entries in the History of the Mass Media in the United States: An Encyclopedia (ed. by Margaret Blanchard, 1998), and Biographical Dictionary of American Journalism (ed. by Joseph McKerns, 1989). He is a former editor of The Journal of Communication Inquiry, the founding book review editor of American Journalism, and guest editor of Ecquid Novi (South Africa) in 1998.

Dr. Atwood has taught a range of courses at New Saint Andrews, including Classical Rhetoric, Biblical Greek, Philosophy, Communication Law, History of Art & Architecutre, History of Higher Education, and various electives, since the College was founded. He and wife Beverlee, the College's Registrar, have two married children and 10 grandchildren (nine grandsons and one granddaughter).

Contact Information: (208) 882-1566 | E-mail

Selected Presentations, Books and Articles

Article, "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Adulthood," in Classis, the ACCS Newsletter, (XIII:5) September 2006.

Presentation, "College Considerations," June 2005, Association for Classical Christian Schools (ACCS), Memphis, TN

Presentations, "The Temptations of Christian Colleges," and "Assessment at Small Christian Colleges," November 2004, Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools (TRACS), Virginia Beach, VA

Presentation, "Facing College: Why Classical & Christian Education Matters Beyond High School," June 2004, Association for Classical Christian Schools (ACCS), Atlanta, GA

"The use of the internet by ten South African non-governmental organizations – a public relations perspective" (with Dr. Annelie Naudé and Dr. Johannes Froneman) in Public Relations Review, 30:1(March 2004), pp. 87-94

"Interactivity on the Web: A Theoretical Analysis," (co-authored with Dr. A. Naudé and Dr Johannes Froneman) Communicare, 23:1 (2004, South Africa).

"Two-way symmetrical communication and interactivity on the Web: A case study of two South African non-governmental organisations" (co-authored with Dr. Annelie Naudé and Dr. Johannes Froneman) in Acta Academica (April 2003, South Africa)

"The Roots of Academic News Research" (co-authored with Dr. Arnold de Beer) in Journalism Studies (UK), 2:4 (November 2001), pp. 485-496

"Handwritten Newspapers" in History of the Mass Media in America: An Encyclopedia, ed. by Margaret Blanchard, (Chicago and London: Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, 1998), pp. 249-250

Mass Communication Law in Idaho, (Stillwater, OK: New Forums Press, 1992)

Quest for Authentic Higher Learning (with Douglas Wilson), Canon Press, 1996