We strive to apply new media solutions to real-world problems by bringing faculty, staff, students and industry leaders of all disciplines together.
Administrative Director, New Media Institute
I love how my students approach each opportunity with boundless energy, unconventional ideas, and unwavering enthusiasm. It’s these characteristics that challenge me year after year. I work strategically to meet the challenge, to help them see the world differently, and to foster dynamic change.
As Administrative Director of UGA’s New Media Institute, I guide the Emerging Media Masters, the New Media Certificate, and TEDxUGA. The NMI is an interdisciplinary academic unit dedicated to the teaching and training of new media professionals. We strive to apply new media solutions to real-world problems by bringing faculty, staff, students and industry leaders of all disciplines together. Since our founding, the NMI has seen exponential growth in the number of students and programs. Now under my leadership, I hope for similar growth in new opportunities for our students and alumni to serve their communities through innovation and collaboration.
Both in and out of the classroom, my efforts are focused on leading students through the constantly changing technology landscape. I push my students to build things and to break things, to fail fast and to figure it out, and to not only make things work but to make them work better. My classroom and my teaching approach are industry-focused and designed to create meaningful learning experiences that prepare my students to enter the workforce a stride ahead of their peers.
While I teach a variety of courses, my specialty is harnessing the power of presentations to transform audiences. As Nancy Duarte says, “If great presentations were easy to build and deliver, they wouldn’t be such an extraordinary form of communication.” In my leadership of TEDxUGA, I embrace the unique challenge of engaging diverse audiences by crafting presentations with purpose. With engagement exceeding 3.5 million viewers, our talks continue to share contagious ideas and spark action.
Originally from Jupiter, Florida, Megan Ward fled the Gator state to be a double-dawg, earning both her Bachelors and Masters in Public Relations from Grady College. An NMI alumna herself, Megan has been with the NMI since 2011, serving in a variety of roles: Graduate Assistant, Program Coordinator, Faculty, and, most recently, Administrative Director. In her current role as Administrative Director, Megan oversees operations for the NMI and its wide range of programs and people.
Founded in 2000, the New Media Certificate is the NMI’s flagship program and TEDxUGA was added to the Institute in 2013. Under Megan’s leadership, the NMI has grown substantially since 2015 and introduced a slew of new programs: Emerging Media Masters (Residential, Online, Double Dawgs), Spark Awards, Professional Fridays, Fundsters, NMIXpo, and more.
In the classroom, Megan teaches a variety of courses for the New Media Certificate, Emerging Media Masters, Office of Student Success and Achievement, and the Graduate School. Her teaching specialty focuses on harnessing the power of presentations to engage and transform audiences. True to the NMI spirit, Megan’s classrooms are industry-focused and designed to create meaningful learning experiences, equipping students to enter the workforce a stride ahead of their peers.
As TEDxUGA Licensee, Megan has served as the driving force behind all things TED on campus since 2013. Megan leads all organization and curation efforts for the annual TEDxUGA event each spring and also consults for TEDxJNJ. To date, Megan has produced more than 15 TEDx events with 150+ presenters and a combined viewership nearing 7 million.
On campus, Megan participated in the inaugural Women’s Leadership Institute in 2016 and served as a Service-Learning Fellow during 2018-2019.
Off campus, Megan is a foster parent who has cared for over 100 children. She and her wife, Amanda, were honored as the 2022 Region 5 Caregivers of the Year for their dedication to working closely with birth parents toward reunification and preparing teens for adulthood before aging out of care. Megan also serves as Director for two nonprofits, The Five Hive and Home in 5, both focused on increasing support and resources for the local foster care community.
When not wrangling the NMI or children, you can find Megan enjoying a craft beer or hitting the road (or skies) for a new travel adventure. Her ultimate dream destination is Antarctica – don’t worry, she will send pictures!