COLLEGE PARK — Mel Coffee and Alexander Pyles, faculty members at the University of Maryland’s Philip Merrill College of Journalism, have been promoted to the rank of Senior Lecturer, Dean Rafael Lorente announced.
Coffee, who has split his four-decade journalism career between newsrooms and classrooms, has directed Merrill College’s Capital News Service broadcast bureau since 2019.
From 2008 to 2019, he was an associate professor at the University of Kentucky School of Journalism and Media, where he launched the school’s first-ever live nightly student news broadcast.
Coffee previously was a faculty member at Southern Methodist University and Syracuse University, and an adjunct faculty member at Temple University.
His full-time teaching career followed 16 years as a reporter, anchor, producer and manager at several local television stations, including in Dallas, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Denver. He’s also been a writer for CNN and a participant in the international Fulbright Program.
A Fulbright Scholar from September 2016 to July 2017 and a Fulbright Specialist in 2013 and 2018, Coffee used those awards to promote a free press in Zambia, where he helped the leading national broadcaster, ZNBC-TV, improve its investigative reporting and overall newsroom product.
“Mel Coffee has spent six years providing guidance and mentorship for our students, helping them gain the valuable real-world experience they need to land broadcast jobs once they graduate,” Lorente said. “His track record of helping Merrill students launch their careers is exceptional.”
Pyles became Merrill College’s associate dean for academic affairs in 2023. He leads the Merrill College master’s program, the college’s flexible and innovative curriculum, maintains academic integrity, and develops partnerships inside and outside the university.
Pyles joined the Merrill College faculty in 2019 as a lecturer and director of the Capital News Service audience engagement bureau.
He helped student journalists use metrics, social media and other digital storytelling tools to maximize the audience for projects published by CNS and the Howard Center for Investigative Journalism. He also teaches related courses on interactive design and social media strategy.
An award-winning journalist and teacher, Pyles was Merrill College's communications manager before joining the full-time faculty in 2019 after teaching part time since 2012.
Previously, he was a reporter and editor for The Baltimore Sun, The (Maryland) Daily Record, Patch.com, The (Wilmington, Delaware) News Journal, CBS Sports, Inside Lacrosse and other publications.
“Alex Pyles has long played a key role in ensuring Merrill College prepares its students for the journalism world of today and tomorrow — first in teaching our students the ins and outs of engaging with audiences and now as a valued member of college leadership, managing our innovative curriculum and master's program,” Lorente said.
For more information, contact:
Josh Land, Communications Manager
joshland@umd.edu