School update regarding Berkeley Journalism leadership

In August 2019, Edward Wasserman announced his decision to step down as dean by June 30, 2020, to rejoin the faculty full-time. The search for his successor was delayed, and Wasserman indicated he’d stay on through the end of the calendar year to give campus time to find his replacement. Last week he announced he would leave June 30 after all.

In a statement to the School, Wasserman, who has been dean since January 2013, praised the moment of “genuine revolutionary promise” that the School, and indeed the country, was experiencing and the “transformative process” seeking racial justice that was underway. Yet, he wrote, “It has become clear that new leadership to shepherd this process is called for.”

The next day, members of the senate faculty asked California Hall to appoint an interim dean to replace Wasserman, address concerns of the student body and respond to reform proposals submitted by the School’s National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) chapter.

UC Berkeley is in the midst of a months-long nationwide search for Wasserman’s successor, led by top global executive recruitment firm Witt Kieffer. The deadline for applications is June 30.

Berkeley Journalism anticipates receiving news about an interim replacement as early as this week.

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