College of Media Press Releases
March 20, 2009
College marks milestones as leadership changes
Dean Ron Yates and journalism department head Walt Harrington will step down this summer.
URBANA--The University of Illinois College of Media looks to the future as two top administrators change roles and return to the classroom full time.
College Dean Ron Yates has decided to leave his post effective Aug. 15. Walt Harrington, head of the department of journalism, will step down and return to teaching full-time when his current sabbatical ends this summer.
Ron Yates will take an administrative leave during the fall semester to focus on some personal writing projects, including a book based on his experiences as a foreign correspondent in Asia from the early 1970s to the early 1990s, and consulting on a film script about Tokyo Rose. He plans to continue to teach after his leave.
"I've enjoyed this," Yates said about his time as dean of the college. "It's been tremendously satisfying to do things that have had a positive impact on the college."
Yates was appointed interim dean of the College in 2003--an appointment that was later made permanent. He came to the college as head of the department of journalism in 1997 following a 27-year newspaper career, including work as a foreign correspondent for the "Chicago Tribune."
"Throughout the almost six years I have served as dean, the college has undergone considerable change," Yates said in his message to students and faculty about his departure.
Under Yates' watch, the College marked several milestones:
- Name change from College of Communications to College of Media
- Review and reorganization of the curriculum for each department
- Transition from a two-year to a four-year college, doubling the number of students
- Creation of the News-Gazette Student Services Center
- Establishment of a new academic department of media and cinema studies
- Integration of the Agricultural Communication program into the College
During his tenure as head of the department of journalism, the department competed for and won a $1.5 million Knight Chair in 2000, a $1.2 million Swanlund Chair in 1999, and a $500,000 Professorship in 2000. Yates also added two Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists to the faculty.
"Ron's accomplishments as dean will leave this college well positioned to face the enormous challenges of a rapidly changing media environment," said University of Illinois Provost Linda Katehi.
"I think the campus values this college in a way that is really significant," Yates said. "We have a lot of interesting, high-profile alumni out there with very powerful positions in media and academia. Our historic doctoral program continues to be a leader in higher education."
Yates said he appreciates the support alumni have given the college over the years. The college has proven attractive to students, garnering many more freshmen applicants than spaces available, allowing the college to admit only the highest quality students, he said.
Walt Harrington, an award-winning journalist and a former writer for "The Washington Post Magazine," joined the college faculty in 1996. He has served as department head since 2003, and said of his decision to step down that he wanted more time for reporting and writing and to focus on teaching.
"Five years of being department head was a healthy stint, and I just thought it was time for me to step down and let someone else take on the responsibilities," he said. " While being a department head, there's not a lot of time to do your own work. It's a very full-time job. I've been working more lately on my own work, and I just realized I missed it."
Journalism professor Brian Johnson is currently serving as acting head of the journalism department while Harrington is on sabbatical, and he will likely continue in that position while a search is conducted.
Yates is not concerned that having two top administrative positions open at the same time might seem disruptive. "The people in leadership positions in the college understand the college very well," he said. "They understand all the opportunities and challenges."
Katehi will seek nominations from the college's faculty for an interim dean to be announced by the end of May. The interim dean will begin his or her duties on Aug. 16. In addition, she plans to appoint a search committee to launch a search for a new dean by the end of July. She hopes to have a new dean in place by August 2010.
Yates said his successor will need to ensure the new department of media and cinema studies gets established successfully, and that all the departments emphasize the emergence of new media, with both journalism and advertising moving more and more to online technologies. The new dean will also oversee a search for a new journalism department head.
"It has been my honor and pleasure to work with each of you as we traversed some difficult terrain, made some tough decisions and ultimately positioned the College for the future," said Yates.
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