Meet Professor Martha Fuentes-Bautista!
By Gabriella Grondalski & Grace Keller
Martha Fuentes-Bautista is one of the amazing professors at UMass. Not only is she a professor in the Communication Department, but she also is a professor in the School of Public Policy.
She first pursued her undergraduate degree in Journalism at Licenciatura, Universidad Central de Venezuela. Unlike the traditional four-year degree, we pursue in the United States, students at this University pursue a five-year degree, similar to a 4 +1 experience, with a thesis/capstone project. After completing her degree, she worked as an economic journalist for ten years. Early in her college career, she realized that she was passionate about the use of communication for social change and development, which eventually led to her leaving journalism to pursue further work in Communication. “I think Communication is about changing the world in one way or another, and I wanted to do so through new technologies. I was in school during the introduction of the Internet and I saw the power and thought of how we can use that for people.”
After traveling to the U.S., she pursued her Master’s in Communication at the University of Buffalo. While she was there she found that policies that affect the shaping of the media were an important area that affected everyone around the world. This discovery became the reason why her Ph.D. from the University of Texas, Austin is focused on Communication with a concentration in public policy. This passion has carried over to the classes she teaches and her research in the U.S. and Latin America, as well as her work with public advocacy organizations and local media.
When looking for jobs, she found that UMass was offering a unique position that connected the Communication Major and the School of Public Policy. “The position attracted me because it married my two interests, not just on communication, but how it intersects with public policy.” As a result, she found the position a perfect fit and enjoys the challenge of navigating the different schools while also helping students think more broadly. Since stepping into the role as a professor, Fuentes-Bautista has instructed many graduate and undergraduate courses, one of which is COMM 122 Media Industries and Institutions. This is one of her favorite classes, as she sees it as a way to welcome students and opening the door to many topics and ideas.
She teaches the class alongside Professor Wayne Xu, and they came up with a way to engage the students at a higher level. “We think it’s really not just about learning the subject matter but being able to use it and explain it and share it with the world.” With this idea, they hope to eventually have a wide collection of student-made resources; one part of this collection is their podcasts. “Pre-pandemic, we wanted to do some content that was video-based, but we knew no everyone would have connectivity.” Together, they had heard of some test podcasts in the department, and after hearing positive feedback about them, they decided to focus on podcasts. Originally the idea was for the professors to record the podcasts, but they decided to change it up and instead have previous students ‘come back’ and assist in the production.
When sending out her midterm evaluations, Fuentes-Bautista included a question asking for feedback on the podcasts, and she has found that the students really enjoy them. They now have testimonies supporting the project and have been seeing the podcasts used heavily. “It’s definitely a popular feature in our class,” she states. With the positive feedback from the students, she and Professor Xu hope to continue to build upon these podcasts and improve upon their project.