Faculty Profile

Degrees

PHD, Indiana Univ Bloomington; MS, CUNY Brooklyn Coll; BA, Boston Univ

Bio

Peter Gershon (Ph.D., Mass Communication, Indiana University) is an Associate Professor Emeritus in the Department of Radio/Television/Film. He currently teaches courses in Mass Media. Previously, he taught television production and aesthetics at the beginning, intermediate and advanced levels. In 2004, and again in 2015, he was the Lawrence Herbert School of Communication's Distinguished Teacher of the Year.

Dr. Gershon's professional background in television production includes work in broadcast, cable and corporate television. He has produced and directed television documentaries, instructional and promotional videos, as well as live, satellite-delivered televised global business teleconferences. Throughout his career, he has presented numerous academic papers on the evolution of television production education. Along with his colleague Jamie Cohen, he is the co-author of "Teaching Television Production in the Age of YouTube" in the April 2010 edition of Journal of Media Education. Prior to coming to Hofstra in 1995, he taught at the University of West Florida, where he was honored with its Distinguished Teaching Award. He also was the recipient of a Golden Apple from the Foundation for Excellence in Education, given for excellence in teaching. In 1995, his documentary about Southern writing, Southern Voices, Southern Words was shown on multiple public television stations across the country, and subsequently was named Best Documentary by the National Broadcasting Society. He produced, directed and co-wrote With One Voice: The Battle Against Breast Cancer on Long Island, in a three-year collaboration with students, faculty and staff in the Herbert School. In October 1999, it was broadcast in the NYC Metro Area (NY/NJ/CT) PBS affiliate, WLIW/21; and won First Place in the 2000 Silver State Documentary Festival; an Honorable Mention in the 48th Columbus International Film Festival (2000); recognition and awards from both the Broadcast Education Association and the International Radio and Television Society; as well as Communicator, Videographer, and Telly Awards. In November 2001, Dr. Gershon was competitively chosen to attend the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Faculty Seminar in Burbank, CA. From 2002-2005, Dr. Gershon served as Chair of the Department of Radio Television Film.  In May 2011, he was the recipient of a Citation from the Office of the Nassau County Executive, for ten years of student leadership in the production of the annual Friends of Max Kolb Telethon. That telethon, produced at Hofstra from 2002 to 2017, raised over $80,000 for film students in the Lawrence Herbert School of Communication. He was co-director of the LHSC's "Hofstra in LA" program from 2015-2023; and was the faculty advisor to the Hofstra Entertainment Access Television (HEAT) network, Hofstra University's student television production organization, from 2003 to 2023. In April 2024, he was named as the "Faculty Honoree: Television Teacher of the Year" by The Herbie Awards in the Lawrence Herbert School of Communication.

The 2024-2025 school year marks Dr. Gershon's 50th  year in higher education. During the time he taught television production, he oversaw more than 1000 student-produced television shows. He has been an avid Dead Head since 1971.

Recent Courses Taught