Michael Chute, Professor of Communication Arts

E-mail: mchute@uu.edu
Phone: 731-661-6594

Chute is the lead professor in Union's journalism program and advisor to the award-winning student newspaper, The Cardinal and Cream. The also is director of the Center for Media Faith and Culture.

"Union's journalism program offers small classes and hands-on experience graduates need to enter the job market," he said. "Our professors have strong career backgrounds with professional contacts that will only enhance our students' experience."

Chute earned a doctor of philosophy degree in mass communication from the University of Southern Mississippi, a master of arts degree in communication from Missouri State University and a bachelor of arts degree in journalism from Oklahoma Baptist University.

"I believe in the value of Christian education, because I'm the product of a Christian university," he said. "Christ-centered education is so important in today's world. God calls people into professions, and He uses us no matter where He calls us to serve – whether that's on the mission field or in a newspaper office. At Union, we teach students to live their Christianity in every aspect of their lives."

Last summer, Chute and Jim Veneman, assistant professor of communication arts, led a group of students to South Africa, where student journalists and photographers teamed up to cover HIV-AIDS work for The Commission magazine. One student was so moved by what she saw that she stayed behind to work the summer in communications with HIV-AIDS ministries.

"We went to cover the story," Chute explained. "But she was so moved by what she saw that she stayed to help. Her parents supported her desire to do that, and we worked to make it happen. The expertise she's learned through classes and experiences at Union was so valuable to this organization."

Chute began his career in journalism at the Baptist Sunday School Board (now Lifeway Christian Resources) and moved to Southwest Baptist University, where he worked as director of public relations. He became managing editor of Missouri's state Baptist newspaper, Word and Way, until he and his wife were appointed Southern Baptist missionaries in 1982. They served first in the Latin America region, living in Brasilia, Brazil, and then in Asia and the Pacific, where they were headquartered in Hong Kong. As an overseas correspondent, Chute was responsible for all the news coverage in the Latin America region, then in the Asia and Pacific region.

"I can relate to students what it means to be in an area that is not predominantly Christian. How do you share your faith when it's dangerous to do so? That's not something we encounter here," he said.

After returning to the United States in 1992, he taught at Oklahoma Baptist University before being named executive editor of Florida's Baptist newspaper, The Florida Baptist Witness.

Chute began teaching at Union in 2003, leaving in 2005 for a two-year stint with the International Mission Board as the director of publishing. He returned to Union last January but still maintains editorship of the IMB's Commission magazine.

"I've worked with secular and denominational press all my life," he said. "What I've learned is that it takes excellence in writing to get ahead in journalism. I teach that in my classes, and I hold students to that high standard. I've never run into a graduate who was sorry I take journalism seriously."

Blog Postings

• Howerton honored as top collegiate journalist - Jun 19, 2008
• Baptist Press Collegiate Journalism Conference - Nov 13, 2007