When Lucy Dalglish assumes her position as dean of the journalism school this August, she has two goals: to learn about the staff’s ideas and to increase collaboration with other schools within this university.
Dalglish, the executive director of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, will replace Dean Kevin Klose Aug. 1. She plans to spend her first months on the campus acclimating herself to the academic environment and speaking with faculty and university leaders in order to best lead the journalism school, which she plans to expand through new programming.
“It’s a new system, I’m going to be spending a lot of time just learning how it all works,” she said. “The people on the staff have incredible ideas.”
One of her main focuses will be working on building collaborations with other schools in the university. Dalglish added that she has already begun discussing collaborations with public policy dean Donald Kettl.
Additionally, she plans to “take advantage of the experience that is found elsewhere in College Park” with ideas such as team teaching between a journalism professor and a professor from a different subject area.
In a statement to the university, Provost Ann Wylie said she was confident Dalglish will propel the school forward.
“With the appointment of a new dean and the support of the highly capable Journalism community, President Loh and I are extremely optimistic about the future of the College,” she said.
Several journalism professors said they anticipate Dalglish will face several challenges in the job considering the changing face of the journalism industry.
Associate professor John Newhagen said he would like to see renewed interest in research in order to keep the school competitive.
“I have never seen a moment where practice should look to research for guidance more than right now,” he said. “If I was young and had an interest in some kind of communication career, It might make sense to me to pick up skills courses at a community college at a fraction of the price … we have to think of what value we add.”
However, assistant professor Kalyani Chadha said Dalglish’s experience studying and speaking on the first amendment makes her well suited to an academic position.
“That’s really at the heart of what journalism is about and especially in our college where we’re really trying to get our students to stand up for what they believe in,” Chadha said. “I think she’s going to do great.”
Dalglish, who believes young journalists will have to learn how to be more entrepreneurial and proactive, said she also wants to provide students with more live journalism experiences in order for them to understand the changing field.
Klose said he was pleased with the search committee’s selection and believes her leadership will aid the school in “keeping up with the demands of the 21st century.”
Several students, such as senior journalism major Jack Feeley, said while Dalglish’s resume is impressive, some questions will remain until she has spent time in her new post.
“I think the one area where I had heard some uncertainty was her fundraising ability,” he said. “That’s one of the huge things for this college is we have to continue to fundraise, because learning doesn’t come cheap.”
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