Bringing workplace practices into the classroom
Award-winning content creator and journalist Jon Leiberman epitomizes the faculty-practitioners at Clark’s School of Professional Studies, combining academic insights with practical, real-world knowledge to help students achieve their career goals.
“I tell my students on day one, ‘You’re going to get the theory and philosophy behind things in your textbook,’” Leiberman says. “‘And from me, you’re going to get 25 years of experience.’ Having done everything from being a journalist to a TV host, to working in big tech and small tech and marketing and communications, I tell them they’re going to get a lot of real-life stories about what really happens out there.”
Leiberman, an adjunct professor, is currently Vice President of Content, Social and Influencer Marketing at Demandbase, an account-based marketing, advertising, sales intelligence, and data company. For Clark, he developed a course entitled Brand Journalism: Corporate Storytelling for the 21st Century. The class examines content creation and distribution in today’s business environment and provides hands-on, actionable ideas in the areas of video production, social media strategy, internal and external communications strategy, and data-driven storytelling.
“I feel like Clark prepares students for that first job, which can be very jarring for a lot of people because there are a lot of expectations, especially now,” he says.
A recent student of Leiberman’s concurs. “Jon would bring in first-hand materials from work that he was doing,” the student said. “There were no presentations that were staged. He was showing us what it looks like when you’re working in that situation because he was doing it every day.”
Praise for Clark’s pragmatic students
Clark is known for small class sizes and close student-faculty relationships. Such a dynamic, Leiberman is quick to point out, benefits both parties. “Students have regular access to established professionals in their field,” he says. “And it’s good for the faculty, too, because we’re always looking for really good talent.”
Leiberman recently hired a former student who had previously been an intern and contract employer with his company. “I have 17 people on my team at work,” he says. “So hiring somebody that’s a known commodity, that I know how they work, that’s a relief. It’s great to be able to do that.”
When asked what makes Clark students stand out, Leiberman says it’s their focus on how the real world works and not just rote memorization or trying to be smart for the sake of being smart. “I hear from my students as much after classes as during them,” he says. “They ask, ‘Hey, would you mind writing me a reference?’ or ‘What do you think of this job?’ or ‘Would you suggest I look at this company?’ That’s what I love about Clark students. They’re thinking pragmatically.”