Melissa Chessher

Melissa Chessher serves as the Dean of Honors and Scholars and is a professor in the Division of Journalism. She possesses more than 20 years of experience in the magazine field as both a writer and an editor. She worked on the launch of Real Simple, the largest magazine launch in Time Inc. history, andÌý³Ò³Ü²õ³Ù´Ç, a healthy living magazine for Latin American women. She has written for more than a dozen national consumer publications, includingÌý³§±ð±ô´Ú,Ìý±á±ð²¹±ô³Ù³ó,ÌýGlamour,ÌýAllure,ÌýMarie Claire,ÌýFitness,ÌýMen's HealthÌý²¹²Ô»åÌý±Ê²¹°ù±ð²Ô³Ù²õÌýmagazines. Her writing covers a wide range of topics — from travel narratives to deeply reported health features, personal essays and culture articles on food, wine, art and architecture. A special report for ³§±ð±ô´ÚÌýmagazine on the workplace challenges faced by women undergoing breast cancer treatment was part of a package that earned a National Magazine Award for personal service from the American Society of Magazine Editors. In 2016,Ìý¹ó´Ç±ô¾±´ÇÌýmagazine named Chessher one of its Top Women in Media.

Before joining SMU, Chessher served as a chair, professor and associate dean at Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications. At SU, she earned several teaching awards, including the Newhouse School’s Senior Class Award for Teaching Excellence, the Empire State Scholastic Press Association’s Advisor of the Year and the Laura J. and L. Douglas Meredith Professorship for Teaching Excellence, the university’s highest teaching honor. She teaches courses devoted to writing, editing, and the creation of multimedia projects. Articles, websites and podcasts created by students in these classes have earned national awards from Hearst, the Broadcast Educators Association, the Online News Association, the Society of Professional Journalists and the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication.