Victoria LaPoe

Victoria LaPoe

Professor

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Professional Summary

Research Interests

  • Media sourcing
  • Digital media and technology
  • Journalism education
  • Public relations and strategic communication
Victoria L. LaPoe, Ph.D., is an award-winning journalist and scholar whose research focuses on media sourcing, digital media, and public relations. She joined the University of Cincinnati in the fall of 2025. Prior to this role, she was a full professor in the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism at Ohio University, where she taught courses in both news and strategic communication (2017-2025), chaired the school’s contest committee, and served as Director of Studies in Journalism for the Honors Tutorial College (2020–2024).

Earlier in her academic career, Dr. LaPoe taught broadcasting at Western Kentucky University, where she served as overall coordinator for the broadcasting and film sequence (2014–2017).

She is a lifetime member of the Indigenous Journalists Association (formerly NAJA), where she was Vice President from 2017 to 2019 and has been a member of the organization’s education committee since 2015.

Awards
  • 2025 — Outstanding University Professor, Ohio University
  • 2025 — Discovery Pillar Award (Outstanding Innovation in Research), Scripps College of Communication, Ohio University
  • 2018 — Outstanding Woman in Journalism and Mass Communication Education, Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC), Commission on the Status of Women Division
  • 2009 — Best Newscast (State Level), Associated Press
Education
  • Ph.D., Media and Public Affairs — Louisiana State University
  • M.A., Journalism and Mass Communication — University of Iowa
  • B.A., Journalism and Mass Communication & Theatre — University of Iowa
Professional Experience
  • Television news producer
  • Client strategist
  • Marketing communication specialist