I hope we’re teaching our students to communicate
with integrity. I hope none of them fall into the trap of just chasing the money. I hope they chase the mission instead.”
— Rick Dunkle, Assistant Professor of Practice in Communication, General Manager of UIndy TV & WICR
Dunkle with cast member Matthew Gray Gubler (left) and writer-producer Andrew Wilder during the first episode Dunkle wrote for “Criminal Minds” (Season 4). ▲
even a Saturday Night Live-style sketch comedy event. Through it all, he’s a firm believer in pushing his students to take ownership and think for themselves—a lesson he learned from Bernero. “I’m not going to tell you everything you need to know because then I’m doing you a disservice,” Dunkle said. “I’ll point them in the right direction but I never take them to the finish line. They have to do that.” It’s a lesson that is even more important in the world of artificial intelligence, where AI can both clone voices and create content. As technology rapidly reshapes how media is produced and consumed, Dunkle sees both opportunity and responsibility. New tools level the playing field and allow students the ability to create things and pursue opportunities that weren’t possible before. But those same tools also make it easier to mislead. “Media is such a power that I hope they use it for good,” Dunkle said. “Right now, we see too many media entities skewing the truth and doing what their advertisers want. I hope we’re teaching our students to communicate with integrity. I hope none of them fall into the trap of just chasing the money. I hope they chase the mission instead.”
Dunkle on the set of “Criminal Minds” with cast member Kirsten Vangsness.
Dunkle with actor Mark Hamill, better known as Luke Skywalker, who was a guest star for a Dunkle- penned episode in Season 8 of “Criminal Minds.”
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MAGAZINE // SUMMER 2026
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