By Meredith Pratt | Staff Writer
This fall, the Baylor Journalism, Public Relations and New Media department will be welcoming Baylor alum Matthew Brammer back to campus 20 years later as a full-time lecturer.
Brammer will be teaching reporting and writing for media and principles of advertising and public relations.
Brammer graduated in 1990 with a degree in marketing and business journalism, and said he believes his Baylor education gave him a “great foundation.” He later went on to earn his master’s in communication management at the University of Southern California.
“The Baylor experience brings so much to life,” Brammer said. “To be back as a professor will be amazing.”
In the course of his career, Brammer has developed his own marketing company, Active Marketing. The company frequently works with motorsport clients.
Brammer has also worked with companies like Volkswagen and Ford as a consumer experience coach for over eight years.
Brammer said he hopes to bring his applied knowledge from these experiences in public relations and coaching into the classroom and give students the opportunity to learn from real-world scenarios.
Outside of his work, Brammer has an array of interests — one in particular being music. While at Baylor, Brammer was a member of four different choirs, including Baylor Religious Hour Choir.
Since his years of singing in college, he has been invited to sing at Carnegie Hall twice. He plays the piano, banjo and is currently learning to play the mandolin.
Another passion of Brammer’s is cooking, with a particular affinity for barbecue.
“I auditioned for MasterChef,” Brammer said. However, he admitted that in the end he decided not to go on the show.
Brammer lives in Phoenix, Arizona with his family and will be commuting from Arizona to Waco to allow his son to finish high school there. He said he has enjoyed being able to spend more time with them during the recent shelter-in-place orders.
“My family is my greatest treasure,” Brammer said.
Maxey Parrish, a professor in the journalism department said the professors are “very excited” to be joined by Brammer in the fall.
“He brings a lot to the table,” Parrish said. “He looks at things strategically and will be a tremendous addition to the department.”
Eager for the semester ahead, Brammer said he looks forward to teaching in an environment where he will not have to apologize for his faith.
“I’m already praying for the students in my class,” Brammer said.
In addition to helping his students succeed, he said his hope is to instill the same confidence that he developed during his time at Baylor in his students.
“I always knew I graduated from one of the best universities,” Brammer said. “The Baylor name and reputation went before me!”
