Journalism Instructor Paul McGrath Brings Real World Experience to the Classroom
By Nancy Nguyen
Much like the student body, the faculty of UHCL represents its own body of diverse people from mixed backgrounds. These professors offer vast amounts of information to their students pertaining to their curriculum while offering real-life experiences. Despite the appreciation of the university’s full-time faculty, The Signal would like to spotlight those educators who teach in addition to holding down full-time jobs – the adjunct professors. The Signal will be profiling an adjunct professor from each school to be acknowledged for their dedication to education as well as the real-world experiences they bring to the university. This is part one of a four-part series.
Television anchors, legislative aides, national newspaper reporters and Pulitzer Prize winners are among the talented students who have sat in the chairs of adjunct Paul McGrath’s media writing and editing classes.
“Paul is very dedicated to his students,” said Deborah Griffin, division chair in HSH. “He brings a lot of real world experience to the classroom. Most students say he is approachable to work with. His standards are high but at the end students walk away with their head held up high, and they are pleased with what they learned.”
McGrath’s wealth of knowledge spawns from his college years at Texas A&M University and 25 plus years of teaching experience. He first started teaching in 1990 and taught at the University of Houston and Texas A&M before his current tenure with UHCL.
After graduating with a degree in journalism, McGrath worked for several Texas newspapers before finding a home with the Houston Chronicle. He currently works for the Houston Chronicle as the Section A editor.
McGrath often draws from real life experiences at the Chronicle to use in his classroom. For example, he cites this anecdote when emphasizing to his students the necessity of proofreading their work:
“The Chronicle misspelled God’s name in the lead of a story for one edition. I told the editors who handled that story that they better be careful driving home,” McGrath said.
McGrath is known for his good sense of humor and his affection for anything “Aggie.”
“His jokes are attention grabbers,” said Ruth Garay, communication major. “I would have my mind on other things and when I’d hear one of his jokes it would help to relieve my stress and refocus my attention back on class.”
McGrath believes that the most rewarding part about teaching is his ability to be exposed to so many students with different backgrounds and cultures.
“Being able to gather information from a diversity of sources and then thoughtfully weigh it is part of what makes a democracy work,” McGrath said “ That’s what I try to do, make students think.”
“He is really good at his job and very well respected in the field and among the faculty,” said Deb Blakely, assistant professor of communication. “We are really fortunate to have him here.”
McGrath has many students who have gone on to pursue careers in communication.
“I’ve had one former student win a Pulitzer Prize in photography,” McGrath said. “ I’m proud to say he’s a Facebook friend.”
