DENTON (UNT), Texas —Dorothy M. Bland, a professor of journalism at Florida A&M University’s School of Journalism & Graphic Communication, has been named the new dean of the University of North Texas’ Frank W. and Sue Mayborn School of Journalism. Her appointment will begin in June.
Bland will replace M. Jean Keller, who has served as the school’s acting dean since September 2012.
UNT Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Warren Burggren called Bland’s hiring “a highly significant academic appointment for UNT in our continuing quest to be a national research university with outstanding student learning.”
“I am extremely pleased for our current journalism students, faculty and staff and for the many distinguished alumni and friends of the school, all of whom will benefit not only from Dorothy Bland’s demonstrated leadership skills in an academic setting, but also from her extensive experience in publishing,” Burggren said.
Bland directed Florida A&M University’s Division of Journalism — the first accredited journalism program at a historically African-American university — for five years. Her accomplishments include leading a successful reaccreditation for the division in spring 2008 and 2012; securing an annual commitment for Scripps-Howard Foundation Internship/Scholarship Grants for two FAMU students beginning in 2011; and working with CBS News, FAMU journalism alumni and others to establish the Harold Dow Professorship, named in honor of the award-winning “48 Hours” correspondent who died in August 2010.
“While I appreciate my FAMU experiences, leading the Mayborn School of Journalism is a wonderful opportunity,” Bland said. “I understand that UNT’s theme is a Green Light to Greatness, and the Mayborn School has a strong foundation plus excellent potential for more greatness. It is strategically located in the fifth largest media market in the nation and a diverse region well positioned for future growth.”
Bland praised the school’s annual Mayborn Literary Nonfiction Conference as a “national treasure” and also the school offering a full complement of student media and student-run advertising/public relations and photo/multimedia agencies.
“I look forward to working with the team to increase the school’s visibility in the digital age and take it to the next level. I value UNT’s four bold goals related to student success, providing a superior educational experience, developing faculty and staff and expanding partnerships,” she said.
At FAMU, Bland led campaigns to raise more than $100,000 to support the National Association of Black Journalists Multimedia Short Courses from 2009 to 2012 and the Dow Jones News Fund Multimedia High School Workshops in 2010 and 2012. She was the interim advisor for both the FAMU chapter of the Association of Black Journalists, which was named Student Chapter of the Year in 2008 and was a finalist in 2009, and the FAMU chapter of Public Relations Society of America.
Bland also served FAMU as a member of the Retention Council, the Web Site Steering Committee and the Search Committee for the Assistant Vice President for Instructional Technology, and was the subcommittee chair of the university’s Organizational Analysis Task Force.
She has served on site teams for the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications at universities in California, Georgia, Kansas, Illinois, Louisiana, Mississippi and other states. Bland was also a juror for the Pulitzer Prizes and a guest lecturer at the Poynter Institute, Kuwait University and other institutions.
Before coming to FAMU, Bland worked in various newspaper positions for 25 years. She was a reporter and editor at USA Today. She served as president and publisher of both the Chillicothe (Ohio) Gazette and Fort Collins (Colo.) Coloradoan and earned three Gannett President’s Rings for outstanding performance.
Bland received her bachelor’s degree in journalism from Arkansas State University and her master of business administration degree in marketing from George Washington University. She was a McCormick Fellow in the Advanced Executive Program at Northwestern University’s Media Management Center and has completed additional graduate courses at Florida State University.
Note: A photo of Dorothy Bland may be downloaded here.
About the Frank W. and Sue Mayborn School of Journalism:
Established in 2009, the Mayborn School of Journalism includes the Department of News and Department of Strategic Communications, which administer bachelor’s degrees.
The school also houses the free-standing Frank W. Mayborn Graduate Institute of Journalism, which administers the only nationally-accredited professional master’s degree program at a Texas college or university. The institute was founded in 1999 after UNT received a gift from the Frank W. and Sue Mayborn Foundation. Frank W. Mayborn was the longtime editor, publisher and owner of the Temple Daily Telegram and the Killeen Daily Herald in Central Texas and owner of KCEN-TV, Temple’s NBC affiliate. After her husband’s death in 1987, Sue Mayborn assumed his duties as editor, publisher and owner of the Temple Daily Telegram and the Killeen Daily Herald. She also served as owner and president of KCEN-TV until 2009.