With the help of jumbo cups of Diet Mountain Dew, Dr. Jim Sernoe has been chair of the Mass Communication Department since 2004, despite threatening to step down on a weekly basis. Fearing that someone might figure out his age, he won't reveal how long he's taught at Midwestern State, but he's been here so long that he is now one of the parade marshals at graduation (an honor reserved only for the real fossils). He grew up in Wisconsin, completing bachelor's and master's degrees at the University of Wisconsin (Go Badgers!). His doctorate in mass communication is from the University of Iowa, although he's still not sure how a Cheesehead was even admitted to the program (maybe he said "Go Hawkeyes!" enough times?).

He enjoys his roles as educator (courses include Mass Communication Law, Media Ethics, Editing, and Mass Communication History, among others), academic adviser ("I see your grades in mass comm. classes are really good, but please just pass math this semester, OK?"), scholar (his research interests include popular music, the First Amendment, mass communication curriculum, crowd-funding for journalists and how journalists are navigating in a fast-changing profession) and administrator (in addition to serving as department chair, he has been interim dean of the College of Fine Arts twice) (some people don't learn until they make the same mistake twice). However, he is often deterred from these roles due to the constant lines outside of his office (typically including students, faculty and the dean, very few of whom show up with Diet Mountain Dew, or any other form of caffeine). In his copious personal time, he is active with the local community theatre and the Wichita Adult Literacy Council, all while drinking as much as Diet Mountain Dew as possible.