Scott Shamp can’t live without his iPhone. As director of new media at the University, he uses it for everything.

Though it may seem his love of technology ends there, the self-proclaimed geek has a passion for new media that reaches out and inspires his students.

That passion drove him to create the New Media Institute at the University in 2000 and work as its director and a full-time professor for the past eight years.

“There were a lot of people back then who really cared about [the New Media Institute], and were turned on by it,” Shamp said, “We’ve been very fortunate to have an abundance of students interested in new technology and how they can use it in a range of different areas.”

Since the creation of the New Media Institute, Shamp has done many things for the University and its community.

Many know him for building one of the first wireless zones in downtown Athens in 2001 which he branded the “WAG zone” for Wireless Athens Group. Although no longer in existence, the WAG zone allowed users to connect wirelessly within a 24-block span of downtown.

During midterms of the 2008 fall semester, Shamp introduced his idea to administer his midterm via WebCT to his introductory new media class. Students who owned laptops were asked to bring them to class to take the test, and others were referred to supervised sections of the Miller Learning Center.

“We had some kinks that need to be worked out, but all in all it was a success. Scott was happy he wouldn’t have to waste paper anymore,” said Brett Robinson, Shamp’s teaching assistant who has helped him on several projects.

Shamp’s passion for all things new media has been ongoing since he was a student at the University.

Shamp graduated in 1981 and received his master’s degree in journalism before moving to Atlanta with his wife, Claudia, a graduate of the College of Education and now associate dean of Greek Life. In Atlanta, Shamp worked at a computer company immediately following the invention of the computer.

Later, he moved to get his Ph.D. in communication from the University of Utah. After graduating, he found out about a job opportunity available at the University and immediately decided to go for it.

“For the longest time [my wife and I] had been talking about all the places we might end up teaching,” Shamp said. “Of all the places, [the University] was one we never talked about because it was the one place we wanted to be more than any place else in the world.”

Shamp said it was a very special occasion to be able to return to Athens with his wife and his first son, Walter.

“We wanted to bring our son – at that time we only had one – back south, and we were able to because I got the job!” he said.

Walter, now 21, is the first of two sons. He is a history major at the University, and his brother, Scoop, 17, is a senior at Athens Academy and plays for their football team.

In his spare time, Shamp likes to read classical Roman and Greek history and plays basketball three times a week.

“I’ve played in the NBA, the noontime basketball association, for 21 years and I’m probably the most winningest player out there just because I’ve been playing the longest,” Shamp said, laughing.

Though Shamp has many passions in his life, he’ll never lose his interest in the power of new media.

“If you were to ask me, is technology the most important thing? No,” Shamp said. “Everybody finds something that really rocks their boat, and for me it is. I can’t build anything else, but there’s something about designing with computers where you can really build your own universe, and everything operates in the way you want it to operate.”

Shamp’s love for the University and the students of the New Media Institute is the driving force behind his newest project – creating a study abroad program for the institute.

“I think it is very important that our students study technology in different contexts because then they’ll be able to recognize the impact it can have,” Shamp said.

Because of ideas like this, students notice Shamp’s passion is more than just a job.

“He could get up there and just talk all day about new media, and he makes it applicable,” said Claire Scully, a senior advertising major from Chapel Hill, Ga.

Shamp said he sees himself doing something different in 10 years, but he makes it clear that his commitment to new media will always be his way of connecting with others and helping out his community.

“Technology will never be a substitute for the interpersonal connections that you must forge,” he said. “I always tell my students that we work on computers, but we always work with people. Never let technology take the place of personal connection, those are the things that make life so much more rewarding.”