Dr. Dhavalasri Shelton Abeywickreme Gunaratne

Dr. Dhavalasri Shelton Abeywickreme Gunaratne, 79, of Moorhead, MN passed away Friday, March 8, 2019. Memorial services for Shelton will be held on Friday, March 15, at Minnesota State University Moorhead, Comstock Memorial Union Room 205 at 6 p.m. Shelton taught at Minnesota State University Moorhead for 22 years as a professor of mass communication, retiring in 2007. He is survived by his wife of 43 years, Yoke-Sim; son, Junius; daughter, Carmel; and three grandchildren.

A prolific academic, Shelton published numerous books and academic papers in the field of journalism. He became an expert in applying Eastern philosophy to science and communication resulting in several award-winning books including: The Dao of the Press, and Mindful Journalism and Media Ethics in the Digital Era.

Shelton traveled extensively and turned his peripatetic experiences into books and articles published in print and online. He captured many of his travels in his book trilogy, From Village Boy to Global Citizen. Over the years he contributed to the Fargo Forum, writing articles on travel as well as other topics ranging from current affairs to religion.

Shelton began his career as a journalist in Sri Lanka, which led to a World Press Institute fellowship at Macalester College in St. Paul, MN. He continued his studies at the University of Oregon and completed his Ph.D. at the University of Minnesota. He taught in Australia, China, Malaysia and the United States.