Memo from Provost Nariman Farvardin:
TO: Faculty, Staff, Students, and Friends of the Philip Merrill College
of Journalism
I am pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Lee Thornton as Interim
Dean of the Philip Merrill College of Journalism, effective June 11, 2008.
Dr. Thornton, who joined the College of Journalism in January 1997,
holds the Richard Eaton endowed chair, created to help raise the
national reputation and visibility of the College in the area of
broadcast news. She is an alumna of Michigan State University who earned
her Ph.D. in radio-television-film studies at Northwestern University,
where she now sits on the National Council of Advisors for the College
of Communication. She was named to Northwestern’s original Council of
100 Outstanding Women. She is a former CBS News White House
correspondent, National Public Radio program host, and CNN public
affairs program producer. In nationwide syndication, she was a producer
for Warner Bros. Domestic Television, Lorimar-Telepictures, and Quincy
Jones Entertainment.
At Maryland, Dr. Thornton has twice been cited for teaching excellence
and mentoring. In 2000 she received a Center for Teaching Excellence
award, and in 2005 she was honored by the President and the Philip
Merrill Presidential Scholars program for faculty mentors. Her
undergraduate and graduate students have won dozens of regional and
national awards in broadcast news, videography and documentary film
production and are at work in the industry from small local markets to
the broadcast and cable networks.
As an active campus citizen, Dr. Thornton served multiple terms on block
grant decision-making, distinguished lecturer decisions, and Banneker
Key scholarship selection. She has chaired the campus promotion and
tenure appeals committee and for four years served on the President’s
Commission on Ethnic Minority Issues, which she also chaired. At the
Philip Merrill College she has served in numerous capacities. Her
professional service is extensive and includes terms on the boards of
the Radio TV News Directors Association of Washington, the Sigma Delta
Chi Foundation of Washington, and the National Academy of Television
Arts and Sciences Chapter for the Chesapeake Region. She is a past
president of the Washington chapter of the Society of Professional
Journalists.
Dr. Thornton has concentrated her research efforts on program
development for Maryland’s UMTV, creating three long-running programs:
Front & Center: Journalists on Journalism; Changing Media; and the
interview program, A Moment With. Those programs have given the
University national visibility over the Research Channel and have
garnered multiple awards, including the coveted “Telly” and
International Communicator (ICA) citations. In 2007, VOD (video on
demand) hits for the programs numbered nearly 10,000.
I am grateful to Dr. Thornton for accepting this responsibility during
this critical transition period. I am confident that the College of
Journalism will continue to move forward under Dr. Thornton’s capable
leadership until a permanent dean is appointed.
Nariman Farvardin
Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost
