Dr. Robert J Snyder

Primary Area: Media Studies - Video and Audio Production, Law, Social Media, Business Communication

Dr. Robert J. Snyder has been connected to the University of Wisconsin System since 1964.  That's the year his father, Dr. Robert L. Snyder, has hired by UW Oshkosh to develop an academic program in Radio-TV-Film.  That program was recently named a Board of Regents Academic Program of Excellence, the highest honor in the UW System. 

Dr. Rob Snyder designed and received approval from the UW System Board of Regents for the first academic program in Social Media in the UW System. He is the architect of the first academic program in Social Media in the country to feature high impact learning practices, including establishing and supervising the first student-run social media production company in the country. The university has recognized Dr. Snyder for his teaching excellence on three different occasions; UW-Platteville Award for Teaching Excellence, 2016, recognition for distinguished contributions to the mission of the University of Wisconsin-Platteville; The National Society of Leadership and Success, UW-Platteville, “Excellence in Teaching Award,” 2015, recognition for being “a pioneer in education through the establishment of a minor in social media;” Thomas and Lee Ann Lindahl Award for Teaching Excellence, College of BILSA, 2014. Between 2003-2017, video production majors working under Dr. Snyder's supervision were recognized 38 times for achievement awards, representing eight different competition categories, in a variety of state, regional and national competitions.  No other student organization or groups of students at UW-Platteville has achieved this level and range of recognition for excellence.  

A believer in The Wisconsin Idea, among the many organizations that have benefited from Dr. Snyder's expertise are the Smithsonian Institution, C-SPAN, ACLU, and the Library of Congress. He is in demand as a workshop leader and for media interviews. Dr. Snyder has completed dozens of research publications and conference presentations. His current research project, funded in part by the university, is an exploration of attempts by the FBI to suppress the civil liberties of German-American Lutheran ministers at the onset of World War II. For the past few years, Dr. Snyder has received over $35,000 in grant money from the Menards Center for the Study of Institutions and Innovation (MCSII) to provide the university community with a range of programming centered on the theme of civil liberties.  According to the university's Office of Research and Sponsored Program's, Dr. Snyder's grant is the first gifted grant in the history of the university.  

In 2022, Dr. Snyder has been appointed as a Patient/Family advocate to the Research Initiatives committee of the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation. The mission of the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation is to cure Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, and to improve the quality of life of children and adults affected by these diseases.  The Initiatives program provides support for cutting-edge translational research studies, focused on the five priority areas to address unmet clinical needs in inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD).  In 2021, more than $32 million was directed to over 200 research projects. That brings the number of projects that the CCF has supported since its inception in 1967 to more than 2,500 research projects and the total investment in IBD research to $446 million.