Dianne Lynch, an associate professor in the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication at Saint Michael's College in Vermont who has served for the past year as the executive director of the national Online News Association, has been named dean of the Roy H. Park School of Communications, as well as associate professor of journalism. She will assume her new duties on July 1.
A member of the faculty at St. Michael's College since 1989, Lynch served as department chair from 1992 to 2001. She has taught a variety of courses, including Literature of Journalism, New Media, Media Law and Ethics, Newspaper Editing and Design, and Global Communications. She is the adviser to the student newspaper and online magazine, and served from 1996 to 1998 as faculty representative to the board of trustees.
"Dianne Lynch is a dynamic and enormously talented academic leader who sees the big picture and understands the central place of the faculty in the pursuit of institutional excellence," says Peter Bardaglio, provost and vice president for academic affairs. "Her combination of energy, insight, and rigor, her experience as a working journalist and scholar, and her commitment to engaged teaching and learning will ensure that the Park School remains in the front ranks of communication programs in the United States. I am very excited to have Dianne join the academic leadership team at Ithaca College and look forward to working with her."
"I am delighted to join the faculty of the Park School at Ithaca College and to help lead the school into the future," says Lynch. "I look forward to working with the faculty and staff to continue the school's long tradition of academic excellence and commitment to students."
Lynch had previously been an instructor in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, from which she earned a bachelor's degree in 1979 and master's degree in 1985. She is currently completing her doctoral degree in communications from McGill University in Montreal.
During an academic sabbatical this past year, Lynch was hired to lead the strategic initiatives of the Online News Association, a 900-member organization of online journalists. Under a grant from the Ford Foundation in 2001, she had developed and written the five-year plan for the association, whose board members include executive editors of the online editions of the New York Times, Washington Post, and USA Today.
Lynch is the author of the textbooks Media Culture and Virtual Ethics: Debating Media Values in a Digital Age. She writes a biweekly column about women and technology, "Wired Women," for ABCNews.com. She had previously written a weekly column for the Christian Science Monitor, titled "alt.media," about the impact technology is having on American culture and values. She also served as editorial director of the first national study of the credibility of digital news, sponsored by the Online News Association under a grant from the Knight Foundation. Her articles have been published in the Chronicle of Higher Education," "American Journalism Review," "PC Magazine, and ZDNet.com.
Honored as the 1999 national journalism teacher of the year by the Freedom Forum, she has also earned the Elizabeth Candon Award from the Association of University Women for providing leadership and service to students in higher education, and the John D. Donoghue Award for contributions to student journalism. A column on "High-Tech Gender Bending" she wrote for ABCNews.com took second place for outstanding digital journalism article in the 2001 GLAAD (Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) Media Awards.
Lynch has served as a member of the Coordinating Council and the Teaching Standards Committee of the Association for Educators in Journalism and Mass Communication, on the editorial board of the Newspaper Research Journal, and director of the New England Center for Computer-Assisted Reporting. She has been a consultant on technology and organizational issues, worked with professional journalists as a writing coach and Internet trainer, and made presentations to a wide variety of audiences, including the Associated Press Managing Editors and the American Society of Newspaper Editors.
Lynch succeeds Thomas Bohn, who retired in July of 2003 after 23 years as dean. Associate provost Garry Brodhead has served as interim dean for the past year.
Contributed by David Maley
