Peter (Piotr) Bobkowski, Ph.D., is Assistant Professor in the William Allen White School of Journalism and Mass Communications at the University of Kansas.
He received a doctorate in mass communication from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2010.
Bobkowski has been involved in high school journalism for 15 years. He was publications adviser at St. Thomas High School in Houston from 1999 to 2006. During this time, his students earned numerous state and national awards including Pacemakers from the National Scholastic Press Association (NSPA) and a Gold Crown from Columbia Scholastic Press Association (CSPA). He was a frequent instructor at high school journalism workshops and conventions.
Bobkowski continues to support high school journalism through his research. He was a co-author with Mark Goodman and Candace Perkins-Bowen of the Scholastic Journalism Census (2011), and of the related research article “Student Media in U.S. Secondary Schools: Associations with School Demographic Characteristics” in Journalism and Mass Communication Educator (2012). He received a grant from the Spencer Foundation to study civic engagement among high school journalists in metro Kansas City (2014-16).
Bobkowski also serves regional and national scholastic journalism organizations. He is a member of the NSPA Board of Directors. In 2013-14 he chaired the search committee for the Executive Director of the Kansas Scholastic Press Association (KSPA). From 2007 to 2011 he was secretary and newsletter editor of the Scholastic Journalism Division of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC). He regularly judges high school journalism contests. He previously judged the CSPA Crowns and NSPA Pacemakers. CSPA awarded him a Gold Key in 2012 in recognition of his service to scholastic journalism.