Nishat Parvez, Ph.D., a new hire in Manhattan University’s communication, sound and media arts department.
NISHAT PARVEZ / COURTESY
Maddie Rosado, Managing / News Editor
At the start of the fall semester, Nishat Parvez, Ph.D., joined Manhattan University’s (MU) communication, sound and media arts department as a new hire.
Since the end of MU’s 2026 spring semester, the department has seen significant turnover. Founding chair Thom Gencarelli, Ph.D., retired at the end of last spring, followed by the retirement of Michael Plugh, Ph.D., associate professor of communication, over the summer.
Michael Grabowski, Ph.D., a professor of communication, sound and media arts and director of MU’s game design program, served on the hiring committee that selected Parvez for the one-year visiting position. After Gencarelli announced his retirement, Grabowski noted, the department knew it needed to bring in additional faculty to help cover his courses. Plugh’s retirement, announced partway through the search, made that need more urgent.
“We were really in desperate need of someone to cover the courses that two people were teaching,” Grabowski said.
Arshia Anwer, Ph.D., associate professor of communication and a member of the hiring committee, explained that the department was down to two full-time faculty covering six concentration areas by the end of last year. The committee prioritized finding someone suited to MU’s mentorship-driven model over any single subject specialty.
“The final candidates that we had were actually from three different subject areas,” Anwer said. “They were not all journalism candidates… because it was not subject oriented when we started [searching]… but there needed to be that one-to-one mentorship aspect [within our candidates].”
Beyond subject expertise, Grabowski emphasized that the committee also sought candidates with teaching experience and broader communication skills, including multimedia production and communication theory. Parvez’s résumé combined that professional journalism background, including reporting experience in Bangladesh, with a doctorate from the University of Oregon.
“We saw the professional journalism experience, but it was also [her] global experience [that stood out],” Grabowski said. “Working as a reporter in Bangladesh, and then studying and earning her Ph.D. at the University of Oregon, we knew that this was somebody who understood and had the ability to teach cross-cultural skills in addition to the foundational skills of journalism and communication.”
Parvez explained what drew her to MU was less the position itself and more the students and colleagues she met during her campus visit, the final stage of the hiring process.
“It seemed like the students were, and still are, very curious to learn,” Parvez said. “And the way the colleagues were talking to them was fascinating to me.”
In her current role, Parvez teaches introduction to integrated marketing, digital storytelling, and media theory and research. She also advises three students in an independent study course and serves as the faculty advisor for The Quadrangle.
“My goal is to teach them not just theoretical knowledge in the book pages, but also to prepare them for the future they are going to have,” Parvez said.
Anna Franchi, a sophomore communication major with a focus in integrated marketing, is taking Parvez’s introduction to integrated marketing course. Franchi highlighted how Parvez has adapted to a new campus while teaching a course she had not previously taught.
“It’s very obvious she’s very passionate about what she’s teaching,” Franchi said. “She also wants to connect with each individual [student] on a personal level.”
That emphasis on personal connection also carries into Parvez’s goals for her first year at MU.
“I don’t think of myself as a person who just gives a lecture,” Parvez said. “I just want to be a mentor. That’s what I wanted to be to the students at MU, whichever department they are from.”
Mark Pottinger, Ph.D., chair of the department of communication, sound and media arts, noted that the hiring committee’s expectations extend beyond the classroom. As the position is a one-year appointment, the department hopes to expand it into something long-term depending on enrollment trends, which have challenged the department in recent years.
“We hope to expand this visiting position to something much longer,” Pottinger said. “But we have to see how things move forward, especially with incoming students.”
Looking toward the future, Parvez hopes to contribute most through journalism.
“I would love to teach any kind of journalism [courses at MU],” Parvez said. “If the department really wants the major to be very strong, [specifically] in journalism, I am here to help them.” Parvez said.
*Editor’s note: Nishat Parvez is the current faculty advisor for The Quadrangle.