Academics

Faculty

Thomas C. Rustici
Professor, Economics in Public Policy
Dr. Rustici has taught economics at George Mason University since 1995. He previously taught at Avila College, DeVry Institute of Technology, and William Jewell College. For the past three years, the George Mason faculty has nominated Rustici for the Excellence in Teaching Award and in 2000, the students named him Professor of the Year, an honor Rustici calls “the most important accomplishment in my life.” In 1999, Professor Rustici wrote the student guide that accompanies John Stossel’s Greed, Freeloaders and Are We Scaring Ourselves to Death videos. His Stossel in the Classroom guides are in almost 600 classrooms and have been read by more than 173,000 students. Rustici earned his B.S. and M.A. degrees in economics at George Mason University, and just completed his dissertation for a Ph.D. in Public Policy at George Mason University in 2005.

Terrence P. Reynolds
Professor, Ethical Perspectives on the Media
Dr. Reynolds is associate professor and Chair of the Department of Theology at Georgetown University. Prior to Georgetown he taught at Connecticut College, the U.S. Coast Guard Academy and Brown University. In 2001, Reynolds received the Distinguished Faculty Award for Teaching Excellence from the Georgetown University's Liberal Studies Program, as well as the Dean's Award for Excellence in Teaching. His published work includes a book titled The Coherence of Life Without God: The Problem of Earthly Desires in the Later Theology of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and a second book The Phenomenon of Religious Faith which is currently under contract. Reynolds has also had many articles published in reference journals such as The Journal of Religious Ethics and the Concordia Theological Quarterly. Prof. Reynolds earned his B.A. from Queens College, his Masters of Divinity at Concordia Theological Seminary, his Masters in Theology from Princeton Theological Seminary and his Ph.D. in religious studies from Brown University.

Mary Lynn Jones
Professor, Journalism Internship Seminar
Mary Lynn F. Jones is a staff writer covering public policy and newsroom issues for Presstime, the magazine of the Newspaper Association of America, which represents almost 90 percent of daily U.S. newspapers.

Previously, she was online editor and publicist for The Hill newspaper in Washington, D.C., where she produced the paper's special reports on policy and retail issues, and organized The HIll's breakfasts with top policymakers and opinion leaders. She is also the former features editor of The Hill and a former senior editor at The American Prospect magazine. Jones has written frequently for The Chicago Tribune's WomanNews section.

Her work has appeared in The Los Angeles Times, The Washington Examiner, The Washington Business Journal, Campaigns & Elections magazine, the Wellesley alumnae magazine and Alternet. Jones has also contributed to several books: The Almanac of the Unelected, Barron's Guide to the Most Competitive Colleges and the forthcoming Encyclopedia of American Parties and Elections.

She has appeared on numerous television and radio programs, including The McLaughlin Group, Fox News Channel, MSNBC and National Public Radio. She teaches at American University's School of Communication and Georgetown University's Institute on Political Journalism. She also speaks regularly before college classes about the media and politics. In addition, Jones is the alumna coordinator for the Wellesley in Washington Intern Program.

She graduated cum laude and with departmental honors from Wellesley College and received her master's degree in journalism from Columbia University. A native Washingtonian, Jones resides in Arlington, Va.

Richard Benedetto
Professor, Journalism Internship Seminar
Richard Benedetto was the White House/national political correspondent for USA TODAY as well as a political columnist for Gannett News Service. He has reported on government and politics on the local, state and national levels for the past 34 years.

As a native of Utica, N.Y., Benedetto began his journalism career with the Buffalo, (N.Y.) Evening News, and held government reporting positions with the Utica Daily Press and Observer-Dispatch.

He also worked in the Albany bureau of Gannett News Service, covering state/government politics during the Gov. Hugh Carey administration. He is a founding member of USA TODAY, joining the newspaper in Washington, D.C. in 1982, prior to its debut. He wrote the paper’s first front-page cover story on its initial day of publication. USA TODAY is now the nation’s largest newspaper.In addition to reporting on the White House and national politics, he writes a weekly political column for the Gannett News Service which serves the Gannett Co. Inc.’s 102 daily newspapers. The column also appears on the USATODAY.com website.

He has covered the administrations of Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton and now George W. Bush. He also has covered the presidential campaigns of 1984, 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000 and 2004.

Benedetto received his B.A. from Utica College of Syracuse University and holds an M.A. in Journalism from Syracuse University’s Newhouse School of Public Communication. Syracuse University awarded him an honorary doctorate in 1992.

Benedetto has lectured at colleges and universities across the country and has received numerous journalism awards. In 2005, he was a visiting professor at the University of Colorado and St. Bonaventure University. He also taught newswriting and reporting as an adjunct professor at Utica College. He was honored in 1998 with the National Italian-American Foundation Media Award for his projection of a positive image for Italian-Americans. Benedetto is currently writing a memoir of his long reporting career, “Politicians Are People, Too,” to be published in late 2005 by University Press of America.