Neil Henry Chosen as Dean
To Faculty, Staff, Students, and Alumni of the Graduate School of Journalism:
Chancellor Birgeneau and I are pleased to inform you that Neil Henry has accepted our offer to extend his appointment as dean of the Graduate School of Journalism to a full five-year term. We make this announcement to you with great enthusiasm.
Dean Henry has served the Graduate School and the University with utmost competence, dedication, and skill since accepting his leadership post under the most trying of circumstances in July, 2007. He has eased divisiveness in the GSJ community, built understanding and trust among its varied constituencies, and succeeded hugely as a fund raiser.
Dean Henry's stewardship of the School has seen the birth of a nationally leading digital news initiative funded by the Ford Foundation to serve neglected Bay Area communities in a time of crisis. He has strengthened ties to private donors and new major philanthropies. He has launched the first-ever collaboration between the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and a school of journalism.
Dean Henry also has worked to maintain Berkeley's place as a central player in the national discussion about the future of journalism and new media. Next fall the school will host an eagerly anticipated national conference at Google dedicated to future business models for media and journalism. A widely recognized author, beloved teacher, and distinguished former correspondent for the Washington Post and Newsweek magazine, his brief tenure as dean has already seen some of the most innovative new media curricular reforms in the nation.
In the past year alone, Dean Henry has raised more than $5 million for the School's new initiatives, including two endowed chairs under the Hewlett Challenge.
Dean Henry declined our request to apply for the permanent position when the national search for a new dean was launched last fall in order not to interfere with efforts to recruit the best possible candidate pool. As many of you are aware, that search recently ended without an offer being made to any of the finalists. Yet throughout this process, Dean Henry has remained supportive, gracious, and deeply loyal to the School and its public service mission. His commitment to faculty, students, staff, and alumni, and his exceptional talents for calm administration, have been proven beyond measure.
In light of this performance, we are convinced more than ever that the finest possible dean for GSJ, at this time and going forward, is the person who has led it through these past two years with such class and devotion.
We are grateful that Dean Henry has accepted this appointment. I hope you will all join us in expressing our thanks and appreciation to him for his continued service to the university, the School, and the profession.
Sincerely,
George W. Breslauer
Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost