Dr. Pat Farabaugh

Education

• Ph.D., Communications - Penn State University (2010)
• M.E., Physical Education - Slippery Rock University (1999)
• B.S., Communications Media - Indiana University of Pennsylvania (1993)

Biography

Pat teaches courses in media and politics, print and broadcast media, publication layout and design, photojournalism, public speaking and mass communications theory.

Before joining the Communications faculty at Saint Francis in 2011, he taught at Penn State University and Indiana University of Pennsylvania. He worked in athletic media relations before entering higher education and served as the sports information director at Saint Francis from 1999-2005.

He has written three books: Carl McIntire's Crusade Against the Fairness Doctrine (2010);  An Unbreakable Bond: The Brotherhood of Maurice Stokes and Jack Twyman (2014); and Disastrous Floods and the Demise of Steel in Johnstown (2021).

Pat is currently working on his fourth book, one tentatively titled Fumbled Opportunity: How Politics and Race Derailed Penn State’s 1969 Football Season. He has also contributed to American Sports: A History of Icons, Idols and Ideas (2013) and his research has been published in multiple peer-reviewed academic journals. 

The western Pennsylvania native served as co-chair of Saint Francis' Middle States Commission on Higher Education Self-Study Team from 2022-25 and he co-wrote and edited the University’s 2024 MSCHE Self-Study Report. He consults with various organizations on improving communication and connection in the workplace.

Pat is an active freelance print and broadcast journalist. He serves as the play-by-play announcer on webstreams of the Saint Francis football and men's basketball teams' home games.

He has served on mission teams that have visited the Dominican Republic and Haiti and is an active volunteer at his church. In addition to his teaching responsibilities within the Communications Program, he also teaches a course in the University's Core Curriculum Program that explores the political and cultural relationship between Haiti and the United States.

Pat’s work has been recognized by his peers. In 2025, he received the University’s Swatsworth Faculty Award, which recognizes excellence in teaching, research and service and is voted on by the faculty at Saint Francis. He is a three-time finalist for the award.

He and his wife, Jenna, reside in Indiana, Pennsylvania. He has three stepsons.

Courses Taught

• COMM 103 – Public Speaking
• COMM 105 – Media Literacy
• COMM 115 – Photojournalism
• COMM 201 – Writing for Media
• COMM 202 – Magazine Writing
• COMM 205 – Print and Web Editing
• COMM 212 – Sports Reporting
• COMM 308 – Desktop Publishing
• COMM 435 – Multiplatform Storytelling
• CORE I – Tragedy and Triumph in Haiti