Kit Hughes

Kit Hughes is an Associate Professor of Communication Studies at Colorado State University (CSU) within the College of Liberal Arts. She holds a Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Her research focuses on media history, labor economics, and industrial media, with notable work on workplace television and financial education films. Hughes co-directs the NEH-funded Center for Engaged Humanities' Infrastructure Challenge Grant and leads digital humanities projects like Project Arclight and the Media History Digital Library. She has received awards for archival innovation and media scholarship.

Her research spans media's role in shaping economic ideologies, corporate communication strategies, and labor practices. Recent work examines data-driven managerialism in professional sports and the historical intersections of media with financial institutions. Hughes’ publications appear in journals like American Quarterly and Television & New Media, with her 2014 American Archivist article winning the Ernst Posner Award.

Before CSU, she taught at Miami University and worked at the Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research. Her grants include a $500,000 NEH initiative promoting humanities infrastructure. Courses taught include 'Media and the Economy' and 'Theories of Archival Research.'