Karl Gude

Karl Gude brought over 25 years of professional experience to Michigan State University's School of Journalism when he joined academia in 2006, following an illustrious career as Director of Information Graphics at both Newsweek magazine and The Associated Press. As a professor of practice and director of Media Sandbox, he transformed creative education through his innovative teaching of infographics, creative thinking, and problem-solving to classes of up to 500 students. His professional portfolio includes visual coverage of seven presidential elections, multiple wars, terrorist attacks, and countless scientific discoveries, notably leading Newsweek's graphics team during the 9/11 attacks. Beyond journalism, he expanded into scientific communication, working on National Science Foundation grants to explain evolutionary biology and collaborating with CERN scientists on the Large Hadron Collider project. His expertise has been sought by organizations including the CIA, and he has shared his insights through three TEDx talks and presentations at South by Southwest. His teaching excellence was recognized with the 2016-2017 Quality in Undergraduate Teaching award from the MSU Alumni Club of Mid-Michigan. After retiring from MSU's College of Communication Arts and Sciences, he left a lasting legacy of inspiring students to think differently and approach visual storytelling with innovation and creativity