Dave Story
Most college professors have to get a bachelor’s degree in the discipline they would like to teach. Then, get a masters and sometimes even a doctoral degree in their field of study. Getting a doctorate usually takes up to an added 6 years of full time student work after obtaining a bachelor’s degree. So, one is looking at 10 extra years of schooling after high school to teach at a four year college. Mr. Dave Madsen took a completely different rout to becoming a professor and head of the mass communications department at Morningside College.
Mr. Madsen got his start in the mass comm world as a student at University of Nebraska Lincoln (UNL). While attending UNL, he got his bachelor’s degree in journalism. After college, Madsen got a job in Sioux City working for the ABC TV station KCAU. He worked there as a for three years until he applied for the general manager position at the NBC station KTIV. He received the job and spent the next 29 years working at the station.
During that 29th year, Dave walked into the station and was surprised to hear the news that his position at the station was no longer needed. To him and his families dismay, Dave joined the ranks of the unemployed (though he was still received severance pay for the next 6 months).
For a day and a half, Dave wondering where to go. He always thought that he would retire as the general manager of KTIV. Then, he received a call for John Rynders, the president of Morningside College. The president offered him a job as a professor at Morningside College which Dave excepted.
So, it took Dave Madsen some 33 years of experience at television stations and a unfortunate day and a half of being unemployed to become a professor at Morningside College. Though it was never his intention to become a professor, he took a positive stance on the job change by saying, “Once one door closes, a window opens.”
Today, Dave seems to be enjoying his time at Morningside College. When asked if he would ever go back to a TV station, he stopped and thought for a little bit before saying, “Probably not, the stress levels I had while at KTIV where very high compared to the stress I have as a professor.”
Dave has continued his education by taking online classes during the night through UNL. Though he may not have recieved his an education to become a professor, he uses his experience in the field well to teach classes like Intro to Mass Comm, Public Relations, Media Management, and others. One of his goals at Morningside is to get students to run a weekly news cast in the studio at Morningside College.
Mass Comm students have a great resource in Dave. His experience, tutorship, and advice are a great for students to not only learn from him but also to get help getting their foot in the door for mass comm jobs in the Siouxland area.