Skip to main content

Primary Navigation

  • About
    • President's Page
    • Presidential Search
    • Board of Trustees
    • Administration
    • Strategic Plans
    • History & Facts
    • Accreditation
    • Accolades
    • The Clarkson Brand
    • Maps & Directions
  • Academics
    • Undergraduate
    • Graduate
    • Continuing & Professional Education
    • School of Arts & Sciences
    • Lewis School of Health Sciences
    • Reh School of Business
    • Coulter School of Engineering
    • Beacon Institute for Rivers and Estuaries
    • Institute for a Sustainable Environment
    • Institute for STEM Education
    • Academic Affairs
    • Student Achievement Services
    • Academic Calendar
  • Admissions
    • First-Year Admissions, Undergraduate
    • Transfer Admissions, Undergraduate
    • International Admissions, Undergraduate
    • Early College Program: The Clarkson School
    • Graduate School Admissions
    • Financial Aid
    • Apply Now
  • Life
    • Office of Student Life
    • Student Clubs & Activities
    • Living on Campus
    • Campus Dining
    • Clarkson Ignite
    • Career & International Experiences
    • Explore the Region
    • Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
    • Student Health & Counseling
    • ROTC
  • Research
  • Athletics
  • News

Information for

  • Visit
  • Apply
  • Request Info
  • Give
  • Alumni
  • Parents
  • Intranet

Jason Schmitt

Jason Schmitt Profile Photo

Jason Schmitt

Professor / Chair of Communication & Media
Communication, Media & Design

Email: jschmitt@clarkson.edu
Phone: 315/268-2314
Office: 165 Bertrand H. Snell Hall
Mailbox: CU Box 5760

Department(s): Department of Communication, Media and Design
School(s): School of Arts and Sciences
  • Biography
Courses Taught
COMM 217 Introduction to Public Speaking
COMM 219 Introduction to Social Media
COMM 245 Writing for New Media
COMM 327 Video Production
COMM 391 Introduction to Social Media
COMM 420 Automotive Journalism (Independent Study)
COMM 427 Video Production II
Biography

Jason Schmitt is a filmmaker, journalist and Chair of the Department of Communication, Media & Design at Clarkson University.  Schmitt concentrates his research toward online education impacting a global audience, open access relating to academic publications, and the reproducibility crisis in science. As a filmmaker, his documentary, "Paywall: The Business of Scholarship," has had 400 public screenings at institutions around the globe and an audience of over 250,000 have viewed the film. Since September 2018, Schmitt has given lectures in support of open access to research at venues as diverse as the United Nations; Erasmus University in Rotterdam, Netherlands; the University of Iceland; Université Côte d'Azur in Nice, France; The British Library in London, England; Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich, Germany; the Institute for Globally Distributed Open Research and Education (IGDORE) in Indonesia; National Cheng Kung University in Tainan, Taiwan; and nearly every ivy league institution in the US.  

Schmitt’s documentary, “Paywall: The Business of Scholarship,” specifically investigates the economic and societal impact of academic publishing, the $25.2 billion a year that flows into for-profit academic publishers, the 35-40% profit margin associated with the top academic publisher Elsevier, and how that profit margin is often greater than some of the most profitable technology companies like Apple, Facebook, and Google. 

Schmitt’s prior film career found him as the interviewer/field producer for the documentary, "Louder Than Love," a film on the historic rock venue The Grande Ballroom and its influence on rock and roll music. The film was awarded an Emmy in 2016 and has been to more than 35 festivals from Detroit to LA and London to Australia.

As a journalist, Schmitt has written more than 75 pieces for outlets like The Guardian, Forbes Asia, Huffington Post, Slate, EdSurge, BoingBoing, EuroDoc, Elmore Magazine, and DBusiness. He also has had his photographic work featured in National Geographic.

Schmitt is involved in providing insight and leadership toward startup companies in the digital space and has judged over 1,000 startup pitches and business models for venture capital funding.

Schmitt has two textbooks, “Purposeful Communication in the Digital Age” (2018) and “Speaking with a Purpose” (2017). Both books are published through Routledge.

Schools at Clarkson

  • Graduate School
  • School of Arts & Sciences
  • David D. Reh School of Business
  • Wallace H. Coulter School of Engineering
  • Earl R. and Barbara D. Lewis School of Health Sciences
  • Institute for a Sustainable Environment
  • Early College Program: The Clarkson School
  • Institute for STEM Education
  • Beacon Institute for Rivers and Estuaries

Highlights of Excellence

  • Career Center
  • Honors Program
  • ROTC
  • SPEED
  • Student Success Center
  • Writing Center

Research & Innovation

  • Clarkson Center for Complex Systems Science (C3S2)
  • The Center for Advanced Materials Processing (CAMP)
  • Center for Air and Aquatic Resources Engineering & Science (CAARES)
  • Center for Identification Technology Research (CITeR)
  • The Center for Rehabilitation Engineering, Science & Technology (CREST)
  • NYS Center of Excellence in Healthy Water Solutions
  • The Shipley Center for Innovation
  • Clarkson Ignite
  • University Libraries

Clarkson University

8 Clarkson Ave., Potsdam, New York 13699 315-268-6400
80 Nott Terrace, Schenectady, NY 12308 518-631-9831
199 Dennings Ave., Beacon, New York 12508 845-838-1600
Take a Virtual Tour

Organizational Chart
© 2022 by Clarkson University | Contact the Webmaster

  • Human Resources • Giving • Bookstore
  • CARES Act Reports & Consumer Information Disclosures (HEOA)
  • Act on Legal & Moral Concerns