Mike McElreath is an adjunct instructor in the Department of Communication and Journalism at the University of Wyoming. He has taught the following courses at UW: Television Producing and Directing, Advanced Television Production, TV News Programming, History of Documentary, and Media Management.

Born and reared in Texas and educated in Oregon, Mike has 34 years of film and television experience as writer-producer-director, manager, and instructor. He has been employed in public broadcasting and higher education for more than 24 years. Since the fall of 1986 he has been manager of University of Wyoming Television (UWTV) and adjunct instructor for the broadcasting program.

His career began in the spring 1966 as a "gopher" for CBS affiliate KOIN-TV in Portland, Ore. Since then he has been involved in thousands of film and video productions in various roles -- cinematographer, film editor, writer, reporter, studio supervisor, producer, director, executive producer, director of development, and manager of productions and programs. The program types have been many -- children's, public affairs, documentaries, news, cultural affairs, instructional, promotional and commercial. PBS has distributed many of his award-winning documentaries.

Most recently, he has produced the one-hour documentary, "Canis Lupus Returns," a program examining the federal plan to reintroduce the gray wolf to Yellowstone National Park and central Idaho, "The Black 14," a historical documentary on the 1968 firing of 14 black football players at the University of Wyoming, and "A Vision for a New Wyoming Economy," a 90-minute program examining Wyoming’s boom and bust economy.

Throughout his career, he created many "firsts" in program content and treatment, including the first documentary on an all-female rock 'n' roll band in 1967; a 13-part series, "Oregon Skier," using a magazine format focusing on recreational skiing in 1968; and a nightly public affairs program, "Feedback," which was interactive with viewers in 1970.

Mike's research interests include film and documentary history and media effects. He continues to write film reviews of documentaries for Wyoming newspapers. Mike received his B.A. degree in political science from Linfield College, McMinnville, Ore., in 1965. He received his master's degree in adult and continuing education from Washington State University, Pullman, Wash., in 1979. His personal interests include whitewater river rafting (formerly as a professional guide and equipment operator), golf, pocket billiards (competes in International Valley League Association.), and the future of his 15-year-old daughter's basketball and golf career.

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