UC Berkeley
Edward Wasserman has been named dean of the graduate school in journalism at the University of California, Berkeley, the university said in a press release Friday. Wasserman is a professor of ethics at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Va. Among other academic achievements, he “earned a license in philosophy from the University of Paris I, Pantheon-Sorbonne, in 1972,” the release says. He’ll begin at Berkeley Jan. 1.
Wasserman also writes a column about the news media for the Miami Herald, which is distributed by McClatchy-Tribune News Service.
Former Washington Post reporter Neil Henry stepped down as dean of Berkeley’s j-school in 2011. Henry was named to that post in 2009 after serving as interim dean since 2007.
Berkeley’s j-school had a tough time attracting a dean when Orville Schell stepped down in 2006 after 10 years in the position. First, Dianne Lynch accepted the position then bowed out. Then, before Henry was named to the post permanently, three finalists were identified. But before one was selected, they all dropped out. Soon after, “interim” was dropped from Henry’s title.
The j-school was also the victim of a recent burglary in which it lost 10 computers. Attempts by Poynter to gather information from the university’s police force on that matter were not fruitful.
