Swasy named biz journalism professor at Illinois

Business journalist Alecia Swasy has been appointed as professor and the Tom and June Netzel Sleeman Scholar in Business Journalism at the University of Illinois.

Swasy recently completed her Ph.D. at the University of Missouri.

Swasy worked as a reporter and editor at The Wall Street Journal, Dow Jones Newswires, and the St. Petersburg Times, among other publications.

She was also managing editor of the Wilmington News Journal in Delaware. At the Virginian Pilot, she was deputy managing editor. Previously, Swasy was assistant managing editor for business at the Times, where she had also served as business editor. In addition, she has worked as a writer for both the Pittsburgh and Atlanta bureaus of The Journal and was editor of The Daily Collegian at Penn State University.

She is the author of “Soap Opera: The Inside Story of Procter & Gamble” and “Changing Focus: Kodak and the Battle to Save a Great American Company,” both published by Random House/Times Books.

Swasy is interested in connecting readers with the media and improving coverage of overlooked populations, such as the rural poor.