Branham named dean of Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications

Branham named dean of Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public CommunicationsMarch 12, 2008Kevin C. Quinnkcquinn@syr.edu

Lorraine Branham, director of the School of Journalism and G.B. Dealey Regents Professor at the University of Texas at Austin, has been named dean of Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, effective July 1. The appointment was announced today by SU Vice Chancellor and Provost Eric F. Spina.

“I am truly honored to have been selected as the new dean of the Newhouse School, and I look forward to working with its very talented faculty, staff and alumni to continue its extraordinary record of achievement,” says Branham. “This is a very exciting time to be joining Newhouse, and I welcome the challenge of leading one of the very best communication schools in the nation.

“I am also excited about the opportunity to work with Vice Chancellor and Provost Eric Spina and Chancellor Nancy Cantor in helping to achieve their vision of Scholarship in Action at Syracuse University,” she says. “At the same time, I look forward to making the transition to the Big East and wearing a new shade of orange!”

Branham will succeed David M. Rubin, who has served as Newhouse dean since 1990. She was chosen from among 300 nominations and 60 applicants following a seven-month nationwide search.

“We applaud the great progress under Dean David Rubin,” says Donald E. Newhouse, president of Advance Publications, “and we welcome Lorraine Branham with high hopes that she will provide the same determined leadership to steer the school in new directions in a fast-changing media world.”

“Lorraine’s strong vision and collaborative leadership will allow her to build on the immense strength of the Newhouse School and its students and faculty,” says Spina. “She has a tremendous understanding of the rapidly evolving world of media and the importance of graduate education and research in a modern school of communications. Also, Lorraine has a deep respect for the status of the Newhouse School and the role the school and its dean must play in today’s global society. We look forward to welcoming her to Syracuse University this summer.”

“Lorraine Branham made a terrific impression on the search committee. She has established herself as a thoughtful, collaborative leader in a highly regarded journalism program at the University of Texas, Austin,” says David C. Smith, SU vice president for administrative planning in academic affairs and chair of the dean search committee. “The combination of her distinguished professional and academic experience makes her an excellent choice to lead the Newhouse School.”

Branham joined the UT faculty in 2002 after a 25-year career as a newspaper editor, editorial writer and reporter. She was previously the assistant to the publisher of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and senior vice president and executive editor of the Tallahassee Democrat, and held several positions at the Philadelphia Inquirer, including associate managing editor for features. She also worked as a reporter at the Philadelphia Tribune; the Courier-Post in Cherry Hill, N.J.; the Philadelphia Bulletin; and the Baltimore Sun.

She has taught reporting and writing at Temple University and has taught in the summer program for minority journalists at the University of California, Berkeley. She has been a Hearst Visiting Professional-in-Residence at the University of Missouri, the University of Florida and the California Polytechnic Institute in San Luis Obispo.

In addition, she was assistant managing editor for the inaugural ASNE Reporter Newspaper, the convention newspaper published by the American Society of Newspaper Editors and staffed by college journalists.

Branham twice served as a juror for the Pulitzer Prizes journalism awards and for three years as a judge for the William Randolph Hearst Journalism Awards Program, the Pulitzer Prize of college journalism. She has also sat on the board of visitors of Florida A&M University’s School of Graphic Arts and Journalism.

She is a member of the Association of Educators in Journalism and Mass Communication, the American Society of Newspaper Editors, the National Association of Minority Media Executives, the National Association of Black Journalists and the Journalism and Women Symposium (JAWS).

Branham holds a bachelor’s degree in television, radio and film from Temple University. She also attended the Women in Management Program at the University of Baltimore and the Advanced Executive Program at Northwestern University. In addition, she was awarded a nine-month John S. Knight Fellowship to Stanford University, where she studied American foreign policy in third world countries and media management.

Her areas of interest include women in leadership, covering diverse communities, journalism ethics and editorial writing.