Jimmy Gentry

Classes: Financial fundamentals for communicators (Edwards Campus) and media management courses (Lawrence Campus)

First year at KU: 1997

Degrees: B.A. history, 1966, Millsaps College, Jackson, Miss.; M.A., 1983, journalism, University of Missouri; Ph.D., 1993, journalism, University of Missouri

More Information: www.jameskgentry.com

James K. Gentry, Ph.D., is a professor and former dean at the William Allen White School of Journalism and Mass Communications at the University of Kansas.

Gentry is nationally known for his ability to turn complicated financial and accounting information into understandable language for corporate communicators and journalists.

Over the past 25 years, he has taught thousands of communicators and journalists how to understand the language of business.

In fall and summer 2006, Gentry presented accounting and finance workshops for the international communications staff at American Standard Co., for the communications leadership at AMC Entertainment and for the marketing staff at Teva Neurosciences, the world’s largest generic drug company. He also presented “How to Use Financial Data to Enhance Client Trust” for the public relations staff at Barkley Evergreen & Partners and “Inside Accounting: The Cliff Notes Version in 10 Steps” for the International Association of Business Communicators’ Southern Regional Conference.

He also conducted his second online tutorial with PR legend Jim Lukaszewski for the International Association of Business Communicators on “Finance for Non-Financial Communicators.” In addition, Gentry led two workshops on writing for Exxon Mobil’s public affairs department in the spring.

Gentry is a member of the Research Committee of the IABC Research Foundation. He has done proprietary research for Texas Instruments, Ford Motor Co. and AT&T.

In January he presented workshops on accounting and finance at the Business Journalism Professors Seminar at the Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism at Arizona State University.

Over the past three years, Gentry has presented accounting workshops for thousands of business editors and reporters across the nation in cities including Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington, D.C., Seattle, Dallas, Miami, and Houston under the sponsorship of the Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism at Arizona State University. He’s also done workshops for Bloomberg News, the San Jose Mercury News and the Seattle Times.

He teaches “Financial Fundamentals for Communicators” and “Research, Metrics and Measurement” for public relations, marketing and advertising professionals enrolled in KU’s graduate program in Marketing Communication in Kansas City. He primarily teaches media management courses on KU’s Lawrence campus. In fall 2006, he introduced a new course, “Financial Basics for Communicators,” for undergraduates in Lawrence.

In 1999-2000, Gentry was the primary consultant in helping the Tampa Tribune, WFLA-TV and Tampa Bay Online converge their news efforts in a new $34 million facility. Gentry also has worked with clients in Toronto, the Twin Cities, Salt Lake City, Topeka, KS, and Moline, IL. In 2003, he helped the Tampa Tribune with a newsroom branding initiative. He has made presentations to numerous professional groups and corporate management teams.

In 2003, Gentry received the Society of American Business Editors and Writers’ Distinguished Achievement Award. Gentry was SABEW’s first executive director in 1984-90 and ran the Business Journalism Program while he was at the University of Missouri.

Prior to joining KU in 1997, Gentry was dean at the University of Nevada, Reno for five years and was a member of the faculty at the University of Missouri School of Journalism for almost 15 years.

Gentry was a reporter and editor for several newspapers before joining the Missouri faculty. He received his Ph.D. in journalism with an emphasis on management and organizational behavior from Missouri in 1993.