UI names new journalism school director

Nearly a year after former University of Iowa School of Journalism and Mass Communication Director David Perlmutter resigned from the post, the UI has appointed his successor.

David Michael Ryfe will take over as director of the journalism school in the UI College of Liberal Arts and Sciences this summer, UI officials announced this week. Ryfe is an associate professor and senior research scholar in the Reynolds School of Journalism at the University of Nevada, Reno, where he has been since 2006. He also serves as academic chair for the journalism school.

Ryfe, in a news release, said he respects the UI journalism school and is eager to join its faculty as director.

'Any school's success is built on attracting exceptional students and excellent faculty, and surrounding them with a supportive community of alumni and others,” Ryfe said. 'The UI School of Journalism and Mass Communication has all of these elements.”

Ryfe said the media industry and public higher education right now are rife with disruption.

'But with its foundation solid, the (UI journalism) school is positioned well to become stronger than ever,” he said in the news release.

Chaden Djalali, dean of the UI College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, called Ryfe a 'dynamic and innovative leader” and said he's the ideal person for the job.

'Working closely with the school's faculty, students, staff, and advisory board, David will build upon its national and international reputation for excellence in scholarly research and teaching,” Djalali said in a news release. 'The School of Journalism and Mass Communication is an essential University of Iowa program with a long history, and I am delighted that David Ryfe will be leading it into its future.”

Ryfe earned a bachelor's degree in political science and literature/creative writing, a master's degree in political science and communication, and a doctorate in communication - all from the University of California, San Diego. Before joining the University of Nevada, Reno, he held a professorship at Middle Tennessee State University and teaching positions at the University of California, Berkeley, and the University of California, San Diego.

He has authored or co-authored 30-some journal articles, book chapters and monographs in the areas of political communication, presidential communication, public deliberation, journalism history and sociology of the news, according to his University of Nevada bio.

He also has guest edited special issues of journals and written books - 'Presidents in Culture,” which was published in 2005, and 'Can Journalism Survive? An Inside Look at American Newsrooms,” which was published in 2012.

That book, which examines the impact of the Internet on the future of democracy and journalism, was a finalist for the Tankard Book Award from the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, according to UI News Services.

Ryfe is under contract for a third book titled 'Journalism and the Public,” with an expected publication date in the summer 2015.

He will take over for professor Julie Andsager, who has been serving as interim director of the School of Journalism and Mass Communication since Perlmutter's departure last year.

Perlmutter led the school from 2009 to 2013, when he left to become dean of the College of Media and Communication at Texas Tech University.

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