Geri Alumit Zeldes Ph.D.

Geri Alumit Zeldes, Ph.D. is a tenured Professor in MSU’s School of Journalism and Associate Dean of Faculty and Academic Staff Affairs (FASA). "Tenured" is bolded as it was a rigorous, longggg process, y'all!

'Oft is the case that after receiving tenure, faculty take on heavier service and leadership roles. That, too, was the journey. From 2014-2017, Zeldes served as the J-School's Graduate Studies Director, 2017-2022 the College of ComArtSci’s Faculty Excellence Advocate, and Jan. 2024-Dec. 2025 Interim Associate Dean of FASA and Graduate Studies.

In 2022, Zeldes received an MSU William J. Beal Outstanding Faculty Award, only given to 10 or fewer faculty each year for awesome-ness demonstrated in teaching, advising, research, publications, art exhibitions, committee work, public service, continuing education ... The work grows out of service to Communities and Students.

Indebted to MSU, Zeldes feels like she grew up at the university, spending more than half her life on campus as a doctoral student, fixed-term and then tenure-stream faculty. She is grateful that her gig allows her to perpetually and doggedly tell stories at the margins, made possible by a team of students who are super in every way. Together, they create something new and therefore, newsworthy.

Zeldes doubles as an academic and practitioner. She has a dozen best paper awards from international communication associations and 100+ honors and screenings for her documentary films and other creative scholarship. Check out the list to your right! :)

She was also invited to speak at two Tedx events and featured for her social justice scholarship on MSU’s “Spartans Will” campaign.

In 2017, the Filipina Women's Network recognized her with a "100 Most Influential Filipina Women in the World Award" in the category Innovator and Thought Leader.

In 2020, during a global pandemic, Zeldes' film "Breed & Bootleg: Legends of Flint Rap Music" debuted online at the Detroit Free Press Film Festival and in 2021, had its in-person premiere at the Flint Institute of Arts. That year, the Society of Professional Journalists-Detroit recognized the film w/ Best Documentary. In 2022, the film received a Regional Emmy® in the Topical Documentary category. "Breed & Bootleg" has screened at 25 venues and was covered in nearly as many media outlets.

In May 2022, "Brenda's Story," broadcasted on WKAR-TV, MSU's PBS station. So far, the film earned the 2022 Diversity & Inclusion Award and an Award of Excellence in the Faculty Video category from the Broadcast Education Association, a Regional Emmy® nomination and Regional Edward R. Murrow Award.

In 2024, Zeldes and her team created the short documentary "Missing Paige" that aired on WILX-TV News 10, an NBC affiliate. Paige is Paige Renkoski, a substitute teacher from Okemos who was last seen in 1990 standing next to a car on the shoulder of Interstate 96 near the Fowlerville exit. The story focuses on her family.

When she isn't in East Lansing, Zeldes is in a suburb of Detroit where she spends her days working from home and binge watching in the background HBO Max, Hulu and Netflix. She spends her evenings shuttling or attending the sports — baseball, basketball, football, and wrestling — activities of her four children.

Documentary filmmaking and news coverage of race, ethnicity and religion

Thematic Research Areas

Global and Multicultural Communication
Political Communication and Civic Engagement

Research Centers and Labs

Knight Center for Environmental Journalism
Health and Risk Communication Center