Maureen E. Boyle
Associate Professor of Communication, Journalism Program Director
Biography
Maureen Boyle is a veteran crime reporter who worked at newspapers throughout New England for more than 25 years, winning regional and national awards, including Journalist of the Year three times.
Over the years, she has covered stories ranging from presidential hopefuls in New Hampshire to serial killers, crime and courts in Massachusetts. She has worked such outlets as The Enterprise of Brockton, Massachusetts, The Standard-Times of New Bedford, Massachusetts, and The Union-Leader of New Hampshire. While in college, she interned at the then-Bridgeport Post and The Hartford Courant in Connecticut.
Boyle is the author of several books. Her 2017 work, Shallow Graves: The Hunt for The New Bedford Highway Serial Killer, examines a gruesome murder case that has remained unsolved for over 30 years. Released in 2021, The Ghost: The Murder of Police Chief Greg Adams and the Hunt for His Killer, explores the decades-long manhunt for a low-level mobster accused of killing a Pennsylvania lawman in 1980. Child Last Seen: The Search for Patty Desmond, published in 2023, investigates the shocking disappearance of a 15-year-old from her Pennsylvania home in winter 1965.
Education
- B.A., Journalism major, English minor, University of Bridgeport, C.T.
- M.A., Criminal Justice, Anna Maria College, Paxton, MA
Courses Taught
- Journalism Law and Ethics
- Newswriting and Reporting
- Advanced Newswriting and Reporting
- Development of American News Media
- Practicum
Selected Publications, Presentations & Accomplishments
- Boyle, Maureen. Child Last Seen: The Search for Patty Desmond. Black Lyon Publishing, 2023.
- Boyle, Maureen. The Ghost: The Murder of Police Chief Greg Adams and the Hunt for His Killer. Black Lyon Publishing, 2021.
- Boyle, Maureen. Shallow Graves: The Hunt for the New Bedford Highway Serial Killer. University Press of New England, 2017.
- "When iPad Meets J101: Can Video and Basic Newswriting Co-exist in the Classroom?" Teaching Journalism & Mass Communication, Winter 2013
- What’s a Phone Book? Teaching Information Literacy Skills to Digital Native Journalism Students." with Patricia McPherson, Teaching Journalism and Mass Communication, Spring/Summer 2012
- New England Society of Newspaper Editors, 2007, Quincy, panelist on excellence in newsrooms.
- “Excellence in Journalism: Covering the Cop Shop,” host and writer of a 30 minute videotape training program sponsored by the American Publishers Institute and the Newspaper Satellite Network, 1993 in Dallas.
- New England Newspaper Association, panelist on covering courts and cops, 1998.
- New England Press Association conferences, panelist on award winning reporting and how to prevent burnout, 1995; panelist on police reporting, 1994.
- State Police Academy training seminar on media relations, 1991.
- Society for Features Journalism, First Place, National Award, 2011, Feature Specialty Reporting
- New England Society of Newspaper Editors, 2007 Community Reporting Award: Given to one New England reporter in newspapers under 40,000 circulation who has shown expertise in covering a region.
- New England Press Association Finalist for Journalist of the Year 2007
- New England Press Association, 2007, First Place in Investigative Reporting, General News Coverage, Social Issues Reporting and Health Reporting
- New England Associated Press News Executives Association, 2007, Second Place, Beat Reporting
- New England Associated Press News Executives Association, 2007, Third Place, Enterprise Reporting
- New England Associated Press News Executives Association, 2007, Third Place, Deadline Reporting
- Journalist of the Year 2003
- Journalist of the Year 2001
- Journalist of the Year 1993
Cold Cases, Hot Courses
Professor Maureen Boyle’s is leveraging her success in the true-crime book genre to enrich her journalism students’ learning.