Update: Dr. Larry Etling currently is residing in the ICU ward of SGMC, according to head of Communications Arts Dr. Carl Cates. While he can recieve cards and emails, visitors are limited.

Dr. Larry Etling, associate professor of mass media, is in serious but stable condition at a Shands hospital in Gainesville, Fla., after being injured in a head-on collision Saturday near his home.

Etling was airlifted and admitted into Shands after being briefly treated at South Georgia Medical Center in Valdosta.

Everyone was asked to not contact the hospital for any information.

Mass media assistant professor Brian Day, Mass Media instructor Michael Taylor, Speech Communication assistant professor for David Nelson and Mass Media head Frank Barnas are covering Dr. Etling’s classes while he is out.

“Each of these faculty members has either taught the course before or has extensive knowledge about the subject matter,” Barnas and Dr. Carl Cates, head of Communication Arts, said in an e-mail.

The course outlines will still follow the timelines that Etling created.

Christine Jones, senior mass media major, and Christi Holliday, IT student technician and senior mass media major, sent an e-mail Monday asking everyone to place letters including words of encouragement or support on Etling’s office door. Cards are also appreciated.

Travis Colwell, a junior mass media major, expressed his emotions concerning this incident. “Right now, I don’t have him for any classes, but he is my adviser and he knew what he was doing,” Colwell said. “To be honest, I really don’t know what’s going to happen at this point.”

Etling spent the beginning of his career with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, CBC News. He is what his colleagues call a “pioneer in radio studies.”

His book “Radio in the Movies: A History and Filmography, 1926-2010,” was released by McFarland & Company last year.