Dean Willard D. Rowland Jr.
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Dean Willard D. Rowland Jr.
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Rowland leaves dean's post
Will focus on teaching and writing
Willard "Wick" Rowland Jr., dean of the University of Colorado at Boulder School of Journalism and Mass Communication, announced Feb. 3 that he will be stepping aside from his 12-year administrative post June 30, the end of the current academic year.
"The past 12 years have been highly productive for the school, and very rewarding" he said. "I have been privileged to serve as part of the recent team of scholar-administrators at the University who have worked with the faculty to build new segments of its increasing excellence. Nonetheless, now is a good time for me to take a little break from administration and refresh my skills in the other portions of my academic career--teaching and research."
Rowland, who has been dean since 1987, said he will focus his attention on completing two book projects. They grow out of his research and teaching interests in public policy for communications and on the history of communications research and education in the academy.
"The University is very proud of the School of Journalism and Mass Communications, which has made great strides during the 12-year tenure of Dean Wick Rowland," said Vice Chancellor Phil DiStefano.
Under Rowland, the School established a national presence in research and the education of journalism and mass communication professionals.
"One of the most obvious problems the School had when I got here was how to identify itself as a part of a top-level research institution," Rowland said. That meant broadening the understanding of the School's role in a wide range of interdisciplinary communications studies, forging a Ph.D. program in media research and earning greater respect for the professional, creative work side of the School.
"On the professional side of the program the School was OK, but ordinary, and many of our students were unsure of the directions in which they were headed. From the start I was concerned that anything in which the School was involved be excellent." He said that when the School aggressively began recruiting professional and research faculty candidates with impressive credentials, University administrators took notice and allowed him to create new faculty positions.
"That was because they saw the quality of the hires we were making on both sides," he said. "Now our faculty includes internationally recognized scholars and outstanding media professionals who are as good as any in the country."
Rowland said he feels the same way about the School's students.
"Our students get people's attention. They're bright, they're enthusiastic and they're hard-working," he said.
Other changes at the School during Rowland's leadership include:
- Establishing the School's centers for environmental journalism, mass media research, new media and student diversity. o Overhauling both the graduate and undergraduate curricula.
- Developing a highly visible advisory board in tune with the School's development needs. o Reviving and advising a strong student government at the School.
- Instituting major innovations in the School's industry and alumni relations and in its internship and placement programs.
- Significantly enhancing fund-raising for the School's programs, attracting several large grants from major national foundations and dramatically increasing the size of the scholarship and academic award programs.
- Launching the university's new radio station, KVCU-AM Radio 1190.
- Establishing a long-term vision for integrated media and communications education at CU.
"None of these achievements are mine alone," Rowland said. "They have involved the considerable talents and contributions of many others in the School and across the campus. Together we have positioned the School and the campus in a whole new relationship to the study of the information society, communications technology and all the related challenges marking our transition into the 21st century. "
Rowland has been a leader nationally in the associations of journalism and communication deans and directors, and in the accreditation of journalism education programs.
He has worked closely with the Colorado Press Association, the Colorado Broadcasters Association, the Colorado High School Press Association, and in Colorado public television.
In Denver he has been a longtime member of the board of directors of the Front Range Educational Media Corp., KBDI-TV, Channel 12, serving as its chair from 1992-1998, and he was an active planner for and early member of the board of directors of the Five Points Media Center Corp.
Throughout his tenure as dean, Rowland has taught regularly and has maintained a steady stream of published research in national and international media research journals and book series, particularly on the public interest in the electronic media, national and international issues in public broadcasting, and the history and forms of journalism and media education.
Rowland said that as he anticipates his return to full-time professorial duties, he takes pride in how far the School has come since his arrival both in substance and in reputation.
"I would say that if there was a major strategic problem we had when I came here it was that we were not known nationally, and I think it is fair now to say that we no longer have that problem.
"The School, its faculty and its students are now widely recognized and respected for their accomplishments."