Chancellor: Discontinue, reorganize CU’s J school

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CU-Boulder Chancellor Phil DiStefano agrees that the School of Journalism and Mass Communication should be discontinued and then reorganized.

In a Jan. 10 letter to CU President Bruce Benson, DiStefano concurs with the findings of a campus committee and recommends that “some or all of the degree programs currently housed in SJMC be continued or offered in a revised form under a different administrative structure.”

He also recommends that “journalism education and scholarship be aligned with and grounded in the academic traditions of other liberal arts disciplines and remain a part of the campus curriculum.”

The letter states that current students will be allowed to graduate “through their existing academic programs or some new administrative structure.” DiStefano also says that, per university policy, “reasonable efforts” will be made to find other suitable positions for J School faculty within the university.

He acknowledges that the ultimate structure of journalism programs depends in part on the recommendations of another campus committee, the Information, Communication and Technology Exploratory Committee. But DiStefano writes in the letter that, at the very least, undergraduate students should be able to get a bachelor’s degree in liberal arts with “a minor or certification in journalism studies that will prepare them for opportunities in media studies.”

“During the transition period, as the campus terminates the Bachelor of Science degree in journalism,” he continues, “the provost and his staff will work with faculty and professionals in the field to develop curriculum that will meet the demands of media studies in the digital media age.”

Benson has 60 days to issue his own recommendations to the Board of Regents.

In related news, an accreditation team from the national Accrediting Council for Journalism and Mass Communication will visit the journalism school from Feb. 27 to March 2. According to a J School alumni newsletter, the team will issue a report and a recommendation on whether the journalism program should continue to be accredited, with a final decision issued by the national council in late April.