Thom Gencarelli, Ph.D.

Thom Gencarelli, Ph.D. (NYU, 1993) is Professor and founding Chair of the Communication Department at Manhattan College in Riverdale, New York. He is a Past President of the Media Ecology Association, the New York State Communication Association, the New Jersey Communication Association (twice), Treasurer and member of the Board of Trustees of the Institute of General Semantics, and Editor of the IGS’ official journal ETC: A Review of General Semantics. He researches and writes about media ecology, media literacy/media education, new media, and popular media and culture with an emphasis on popular music. He is co-editor (with Brian Cogan) of the anthology Baby Boomers and Popular Culture: An Inquiry into America’s Most Powerful Generation (ABC-Clio/ Praeger, 2014), and is currently at work on a book entitled Searching for the Right Notes: Essays on Media, Music, and Meaning.

Thom is the recipient of multiple awards including the Eastern Communication Association’s Distinguished Teaching Fellows Award and the Media Ecology Association’s Louis Forsdale Award for Outstanding Educator in the Field of Media Ecology in 2019, the John F. Wilson Fellowship Award for Scholarship and Service from the New York State Communication Association in 2016, and the Media Ecology Association’s Christine L. Nystrom Award for Outstanding Career Achievement in Service to the Field of Media Ecology in 2013. He is also a songwriter, musician, and producer and has released three album-length works with his ensemble bluerace, World is Ready (2009), Beautiful Sky (2013), and Mistral (2019). The group is presently at work on their fourth record.