ICC Professor Bridges the Gaps of Communication for Nearly Two Decades
This article is a student submission from Journalism 122 in fall 2021.
Stephanie McClaskey
Dec 6, 2021
Debbie Hedemann, Professor of Communication and Mass Communication at Illinois Central College (ICC), has been involved at ICC for nearly two decades. Professor Hedemann is currently teaching multiple communication courses. She is the teaching chair for the communication program and Harbinger Student Media (HSM) manager.
Prof. Hedemann began her teaching career as a teaching assistant at Indiana State University (ISU) to pay for graduate school. The experience turned out to be more enjoyable than she had anticipated, despite her plans to get away from the family business.
“I never wanted to be a teacher because everyone in my family was a teacher, but then I tried it, and I liked it.”
Prof. Hedemann explains.
After Prof Hedemann obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree at North Central College, she gravitated towards jobs in TV stations. The pull towards these jobs brought light to her passion for communication and its various platforms. Hedemann then went back to college to achieve a Master of Science degree at ISU, where she got her first taste of teaching. While earning her degree, she also worked for a local NBC affiliate TV station.
Upon completing her education, she returned to the Peoria area, where she worked again in TV for several more network-affiliated stations. She soon began working as an adjunct professor at Bradley University. Shortly after completing that contract, she was brought on at ICC part-time. Three years later, she became a full-time professor of Communication and Mass Communication.
Hedemann currently teaches six different courses at ICC. Introduction to Communication, Small Group Communication, Introduction to Mass Media, Introduction to Radio, TV and Emerging Media, Scriptwriting, and History of Motion Pictures.
Before her role as manager of HSM, Prof Hedemann was a faculty advisor to one of the various media outlets at ICC, which at the time were three separate entities. The Harbinger was the newspaper that covered the printed content of campus news, UndergroundTV covered video production of ICC’s news, and Radio WAZU gifted the airways with campus news in the form of a radio station.
In 2018, things took a turn. Prof. Hedemann and Gary Hale, a recently retired colleague to Prof. Hedemann, pulled together to merge the three platforms into a single entity, now known as Harbinger Student Media. Upon completing the unification, Hale recommended that Prof. Hedemann lead the project while maintaining his role as advisor on the program.
While Prof. Hedemann enjoys her time in front of the class, she has many joys away from the teaching podium. Prof. Hedemann enjoys cooking in her free time and finds herself to be pretty talented in the kitchen. Prof. Hedemann also travels with her husband, who whisks her off to attend baseball games across the country and even some in foreign lands. Her favorite place to visit is New Orleans. She also enjoys going to see movies and listening to music.
If you happen to see this professor while making your way across campus, don’t hesitate to stop and introduce yourself to her, she is one of the nicest people you will meet. Share with her you recognize her from this article, and it is sure to be a conversation starter.