The University of King’s College is pleased to share the appointment of Wanda Taylor as Rogers Chair in Journalism as of July 1, 2026. The Rogers Chair was originally established in 1988 as the Maclean Hunter Chair of Journalism and Contemporary Studies. The aim of the academic position is to enhance and extend King’s journalism programs through teaching and/or research and professional production.
An award-winning writer, filmmaker, journalist and professor, Taylor is an accomplished storyteller across various mediums. She has authored fiction and nonfiction books in both children’s and adult markets, including Birchtown and the Black Loyalists and The Grover School Pledge, which received the 2023 Northern Lights Book Award. Her magazine features, poems and essays appear in publications across Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom, and she has written and produced content for film, television and documentaries. Taylor is a former CBC Television producer and has also worked professionally as an acquisitions editor and sensitivity reader.
“It’s all so interconnected. It’s all storytelling,” says Taylor of her professional background. “Nonfiction, fiction, writing for children, adults, screenplays, having my foot in these different worlds, being a sensitivity reader… I feel like there’s something in each one of those. Pieces of me and skills that I’ve used in each role that I can now combine and bring to the Rogers Chair.”
Taylor is already well-connected to King’s, having completed her Bachelor of Journalism here in 2008 and later teaching in the journalism and Master of Fine Arts programs. “I always knew I wanted to teach,” says Taylor. “I didn’t know that I would come full circle and teach at King’s.” After several years as a Mentor in both Master of Fine Arts programs (Fiction and Creative Nonfiction), Taylor now serves as Cohort Director for the fiction program—a role she will leave as she assumes the Rogers Chair.
In the upcoming academic year, Taylor will teach the fundamentals of text-based reporting and an advanced reporting course, which will provide students with the tools to write research-intensive profiles and news features, report critically on public opinion polls, perform a simple analysis of a dataset and gain experience in advanced social media verification skills. She will also teach Fake News: Journalism Verification Techniques, a course designed to explore disinformation and provide students with basic tools to query and verify, or debunk, news stories on social media and elsewhere.
“Taylor brings a wealth of teaching, writing and documentary filmmaking experience to the role as we prepare for the launch of our new undergraduate curriculum next year,” says Director of Journalism Fred Vallance-Jones. “She will bring an African Nova Scotian perspective to our core faculty at a critical moment as we build a community that better reflects the diversity of Nova Scotia and Mi’kma’ki.”
Existing journalism initiatives that Taylor will build on include the Mi’kmaw Journalism Initiative, which covers tuition and incidental fees for up to three Mi’kmaw students per year in the Bachelor of Journalism (Honours), advanced Bachelor of Journalism or Master of Journalism programs. This initiative is part of King’s ongoing work to address the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action on education and media. In September 2026, the African Nova Scotian Journalism Initiative will also welcome its first cohort, building upon the funding King’s offers for African Nova Scotian and Black students through scholarships, financial awards and bursaries.
“One of the things I hope to do, not just as a Chair, but as faculty at King’s, is to bring more students through the doors and help them feel like they belong,” says Taylor. “I think that’s part of our role: finding a way to bring students in who haven’t traditionally felt like they belonged in these circles and making them part of the King’s community. Because I’m so deeply connected to different kinds of communities, I want to be active in championing new students into King’s.”
Photo: Tobi Asmoucha Photography
