Rate My Professor Margaretha Geertsema-Sligh

Margaretha Geertsema-Sligh is a Professor of Journalism in the Eugene S. Pulliam School of Journalism and Creative Media at Butler University’s College of Communication, where she also serves as Director of Graduate Studies and holds the Richard M. Fairbanks Chair of Communication. Before pursuing academia in the United States, she spent five years working in journalism and public relations in South Africa following her bachelor’s degree in Mass Communication from North-West University. She earned a master’s degree in Communication from Washington State University and a doctorate in Journalism from the University of Texas at Austin. Geertsema-Sligh joined Butler University in August 2005 as an Assistant Professor, attaining tenure and promotion to Associate Professor in 2011 and to Professor in 2017. She directed the interdisciplinary Global and Historical Studies program for four years prior to her appointment as Director of the Eugene S. Pulliam School of Journalism and Creative Media in June 2016. From April 1, 2021, she served as Interim Dean of the College of Communication. Additionally, she has chaired the Professional Standards Committee, International Committee, and Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Intercultural Development Committee, and served on President James Danko’s Faculty Advisory Committee.

Geertsema-Sligh’s research focuses on global media, gender and journalism, media development, globalization, and women’s issues, utilizing intersectional and transnational feminist frameworks with empirical data from 92 countries to challenge Western-centric paradigms. She authored the textbook Journalism and Gender: Global Perspectives (Routledge, 2025) and co-edited The International Encyclopedia of Journalism Studies (2019). Notable publications include “Women and News: Making Connections Between the Global and the Local” (2009, cited 53 times), “Gender Issues in News Coverage” (2019, cited 52 times), “Challenging the Lion in Its Den: Dilemmas of Gender and Media Activism in South Africa” (2010, cited 28 times), “Women Making News: Gender and Media in South Africa” (2008, cited 25 times), “Gender Mainstreaming in Journalism Education” (2014), and “Running up Against a Brick Wall: U.S. Metajournalistic Discourse of Gender Equality in Newsrooms” (2022). With over 400 citations on Google Scholar, her scholarship impacts journalism education and gender equity in newsrooms globally. An active AEJMC leader and Institute for Diverse Leadership fellow (2018-19), she organizes panels on journalism and gender in the Global South and was honored as part of Butler’s 2019 All-Star Faculty Team.