David Chanatry, Distinguished Professor of Journalism at Utica University, will retire at the end of the fall semester, concluding a distinguished academic career. Chanatry has been a member of the university’s faculty since 2003, contributing over two decades of expertise and dedication to the institution.

Before becoming a professor, Chanatry spent 20 years at NBC where he honed his journalism skills as a writer and producer. In 2003, he returned to his hometown of Utica, motivated by a desire to be closer to family and provide his children with a different environment than the city life. He currently lives in Cazenovia. 

Chanatry continued to write stories for NBC regularly for 15 years after joining Utica University and still occasionally receives assignments.  

“Teaching is completely different than what I have been doing previously in the sense that then I was getting the information out to people through programs that I worked for, and now it is much more focused on trying to work with students to teach them some of the skills that I had, and also trying to teach them to understand the media industry,” Chanatry said. 

Reflecting on his teaching philosophy, he hopes that all students will understand that expectations in the world are high. 

“I don’t think my expectations of what I would get in terms of work from students are high. I think we don’t expect enough from our students, and work is due when work is due,” Chanatry said. 

According to Chanatry, the transformation of journalism has been dramatic mostly because of technology. 

“Technology has not only changed the way people are not buying physical news anymore, but it also changed the speed of news. Putting pressure on reporting to take a little bit of time to get additional sources on something. Now, news comes to people through social media before they even visit news sites.” 

Chanatry said one of the biggest challenges he faced at the beginning of his academic career was learning how to teach. “It was my biggest challenge to understand I was in a different environment and I had to deal with people differently.” 

Another challenge was that the university did not have the facilities to start a broadcast journalism program. When he first came here, there was no production studio. They had one editing system and put it in the hallway for the students to use for their projects. 

In response to that, Chanatry essentially established the broadcasting part of the journalism curriculum, according to Kim Landon, professor emeritus of journalism. There had been courses before but he put together an entire curriculum that prepared Utica University students to go out in the field and be successful, she said. 

“There are broadcast journalism alumni at the top of their field who are a testament to his efforts,” Landon said. “As a colleague, I could not have asked for a better partner in the challenges that faced our department over the years. He always showed up and stepped up and delivered what we needed. Much of what has been great about the journalism and broadcasting programs will likely be lost after he retires and that is very sad.”

Looking back, Chanatry cherished his time at Utica University. 

“In a way that I did not appreciate when I started, it is a collection of really fascinating people,” Chanatry said.

He came to value the diverse community at the institution, with professors who were experts in their fields and each having unique paths that brought them to the university. He particularly enjoyed reading the personal statements of other faculty members, which often highlighted their impressive and interesting work.

Chanatry shared advice for students. 

“It is okay to not know what you want to do, certainly in the environment right now where there is a lot of pressure on students and schools to turn out people to start working immediately,” he said. “It is okay if you do not know as long as you are willing to be open to possibilities and work hard to be able to understand and to be informed, be a good citizen and listen to other people.”

For the past eight years, Chanatry has hosted “Ivory Tower,” a weekly roundtable politics and current events discussion program on WCNY, a role he plans to continue after retirement. 

Chanatry also plans to pursue outdoor activities and travel. His goals include hiking the 26 New York peaks with fire towers, skiing in the winter and traveling with his wife.