Professor MacAngus Talks About His Life at the UAC

By Joshua Na

Donald MacAngus, the professor and director of the Department of Communication, has been an integral member of the University of Utah Asia Campus (UAC) community for the past few years. Currently in his fourth year at the UAC, professor MacAngus described his career and unique experiences in Korea.

He first started teaching at the Salt Lake campus of the University of Utah (U of U) while attending the SJ Quinney College of Law at the U of U in 2002. As his mother is Native American, he was particularly interested in contributing to the Department of Ethnic Studies, which has a Native American program. Professor MacAngus truly enjoyed his experiences with teaching and started to expand his career in the Department of Communication by taking on a variety of classes and reaching out to different departments. Since the summer of that year, he continued to teach students for 10 years, specifically in the Department of Ethnic Studies. He also taught in the Department of Continuing Education (AOCE) and and in 2012 he started teaching COMM 5300, which is a pre-law oriented course, for the Department of Communication.

Professor MacAngus revealed that it was a very “big decision” to come and teach in Korea because of the separation from his family. He recalled that the student body was very small that first year, and only five students were in his class. He stated that some days, only one student came to class and he took it “very personally”, thinking that students did not like his teaching style.

The professor appreciates his four years of working at the UAC and praises his students as “smart and high achieving.” He noted that “UAC students are high performers, and some are even superior – above average.” Professor MacAngus also relishes Korean food, especially Sundae (a blood sausage) and dishes including Gimbap, or Tteokbokki. However, he expressed that he feels lonely being away from his family.

Professor MacAngus is also optimistic about his future at the UAC. He “likes his students very much” and expected the campus to continually grow. His personal hope is for Chinese, Japanese and other Asian students to attend the UAC to bring cultural diversity within the campus.

Additionally, he has several tips to help students succeed in class. He advised students to fulfill their basic responsibilities, such as coming to class on time, bringing the book with you, reading the material before class, completing the assignments, participating in class, and raising your hand. Moreover, based on recent studies, he strongly encouraged students to take notes by hand rather than using electronic devices, as this can greatly improve comprehension and retention.