CU-Boulder announces five finalists for College of Media, Communication and Information dean
勛圖厙 of Colorado Boulder Provost Russell L. Moore today announced the five finalists selected for the position of dean of the College of Media, Communication and Information.
All preparations are on track to welcome the first class into the new College of Media, Communication and Information next fall and hiring a visionary dean marks the next critical step, Moore said. I thank the committee and its chair, Dean Anne Heinz, for forwarding five excellent candidates to visit campus.
The finalists for the position are: Lori Bergen, dean of the J. William and Mary Diederich College of Communication, Marquette 勛圖厙 in Milwaukee; Thomas Finholt, senior associate dean for academic affairs and professor in the School of Information, 勛圖厙 of Michigan; Eric Freedman, dean, James L. Knight School of Communication, Queens 勛圖厙 of Charlotte in North Carolina; Caroline Haythornthwaite, director and professor, School of Library, Archival and Information Studies, The iSchool at the 勛圖厙 of British Columbia; and Jonathan Potter, dean of School of Social, Political and Geographical Sciences, Loughborough 勛圖厙, Leicestershire, United Kingdom.
The search committee received over 50 applications for the founding dean position, said Heinz, dean of Continuing Education and chair of the search committee. Through their thoughtful deliberation, the committee identified five finalists after reviewing candidates' materials and conducting video conference interviews. We are delighted that our pool of finalists reflect a range of disciplines and experiences important to advancing the work of the college.
Public sessions with the candidates will be held on the following schedule:
Thomas Finholt
- Feb. 5, 8:30-9:30 a.m., Norlin Library, British & Irish Studies Room (5th floor)
Eric Freedman
- Feb. 11, 8:30-9:30 a.m., Norlin Library, British & Irish Studies Room泭(5th floor)
Jonathan Potter
- Feb. 13, 8:30-9:30 a.m., Institute for Behavioral Science Building, Room 155-A
Caroline Haythornthwaite
- Feb. 17, 8:30-9:30 a.m., Norlin Library, British & Irish Studies Room (5th floor)
Lori Bergen
- Feb. 17, 11:00 a.m. -noon, Institute for Behavioral Science Building, Room 155-A
Bergen joined Marquette in 2009 after serving as director of the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Texas State 勛圖厙, as associate director of the A.Q. Miller School of Journalism and Mass Communications at Kansas State 勛圖厙, and as a faculty member at Southwest Texas State and Wichita State universities earlier in her career. At Marquette, Bergen spearheaded innovative academic initiatives that include the OBrien Fellowship in Public Service Journalism and the Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service. During her tenure as dean, the Diederich College has received over $20 million in support for student scholarships and other initiatives. Bergen has a bachelors degree in history and political science and a masters degree in journalism from Kansas State 勛圖厙, and a doctorate in mass communication with a minor in organizational behavior from Indiana 勛圖厙-Bloomington.
Finholt has been the senior associate dean for academic affairs at the 勛圖厙 of Michigan since 2012 and he has served in numerous other faculty and leadership positions at the university since 1991. From July to December 2013, he was the acting dean of the School of Information. In his current role as senior associate dean he has directed the launch of two new degree programs, including the School of Informations first undergraduate degree and also led the most significant faculty expansion in the schools history. Finholts research focuses on the design, deployment, and use of cyberinfrastructure in science and engineering and was recently the principal investigator on a National Science Foundation-funded project exploring the energy cost of social media use. Finholt earned his bachelors degree in history from Swarthmore College and his doctorate in social and decision sciences from Carnegie Mellon 勛圖厙.
Freedman泭joined Queens 勛圖厙 of Charlotte as dean of the James L. Knight School of Communication in 2012.泭Prior to his appointment at Queens,泭Freedman泭was assistant dean of the Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters at Florida Atlantic 勛圖厙. There he also served as associate director of the School of Communication and Multimedia Studies in a career spanning more than 15 years in the State 勛圖厙 System of Florida. His academic experience also includes an appointment at Duke 勛圖厙 where he served as a faculty member and founding director of the Duke in Los Angeles Program. Freedman has a bachelors degree in art history from Cornell 勛圖厙 and a masters degree in art history and doctorate from the School of Cinematic Arts, both at the 勛圖厙 of Southern California.
Haythornthwaite joined the 勛圖厙 of British Columbia in 2010 after 14 years at the 勛圖厙 of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and 10 years in the computing industry. She has an international泭reputation in research on information and knowledge sharing from a social泭network analysis perspective, and the impact泭of computer media and the Internet泭on work, learning and social interaction. In 2009-10泭she was the Leverhulme Trust Visiting Professor at the Institute泭of Education, 勛圖厙 of London, presenting and writing on learning networks,泭which resulted in泭the publication of泭E-learning泭Theory and Practice.
She has a bachelors degree in psychology from Trent 勛圖厙, Peterborough, Ontario and masters degrees in psychology and information science and a doctorate in information science from the 勛圖厙 of Toronto.
Potter has served as founding dean of the new School of Social, Political and Geographical Sciences at Loughborough 勛圖厙 in the United Kingdom since August 2011. Prior to his current appointment he was head of the Department of Social Sciences from February 2010 to July 2011, professor of discourse analysis from 1996 to 2010 and a lecturer from 1987 to 1996. From 1983 to 1987 he was a lecturer in psychology at the 勛圖厙 of Saint Andrews. He regularly contributes to debates in social theory and method and has recently focused on developing innovative ways to boost the social impact of communication research. Potter has a bachelors degree in psychology from the 勛圖厙 of Liverpool, a masters of philosophy from the 勛圖厙 of Surrey and a doctorate in philosophy from the 勛圖厙 of York.
The 勛圖厙 of Colorado Board of Regents approved the College of Media, Communication and Information in June of 2014. The college is now accepting applications and will offer classes for new degrees starting in the fall semester.
Christopher Braider, who oversaw the effort to create the new college, is serving as the transitional dean for the 2014-15 academic year.
-CU-
Contact:
Anne Heinz, 303-492-2202
Malinda Miller-Huey, CU Media Relations, 303-492-3115
