Stephen Greene From Stephen Greene's first day, more than 20 years ago, he knew the role of technology in mass communications would be his primary interest.
“I love history and I couldn't help but notice how important the dominant technology was at different periods of time. For example, it took the development of the rotary press to produce enough newspapers to create a truly mass media.”“Then radio came along in the 1920s, and thanks to its use of the electro-magnetic spectrum, its audience made newspapers' look puny by comparison.”
Greene's teaching career at JMC happened to coincide with one of the greatest media revolutions in history, ranking right up there with Gutenberg's press,
radio and TV.
It was the internet, of course.
“Keeping pace with the digital revolution has been so difficult for academic institutions. The cost of equipment, the need to train and retrain faculty and students has strained our resources for the past two decades,” Greene said.
It’s gotten so bad that some public institutions are charging more tuition for some tech-heavy disciplines like engineering and journalism.
“At JMC we’re dealing with the costs in a different way, by requiring students to purchase their own laptop computers,” Greene said.
“It does impose a burden on students, but it allows us to keep the equipment up to date.”
Keeping himself up to date has also been a struggle.
“I remember spending untold hours learning a scripting language called ‘Hypercard’ in the 1990s only to see it all but disappear at the end of the decade.”
“Remaining relevant in a fast changing world is always difficult. We’re educating students for the long run so we have to present a program of enduring principles combined with up-to-date techniques.”
Until recently, Greene has lived in Santa Cruz and made the daily trip across the mountains.
“I had the best of both worlds: a cosmopolitan workplace and a rural retreat.”
Now that his two boys are grown up, he and his wife are looking for new opportunities.
“No matter where we wander, this school and these students will remain foremost in my thoughts,” he said.
in a series
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