Journalism dean search: Some raise concerns over candidate’s work for liberal think tank

Part of a Stories Beneath the Shell series covering the appointment to dean of the University of Maryland’s journalism school.

First published Thursday, April 6, 2023 in Stories Beneath the Shell.

One of the first things Sam Fulwood, who is a finalist to become dean of the Philip Merrill College of Journalism, said at his session with faculty to introduce himself was: 

“I’m nervous as hell.”

Fulwood, the dean of the School of Communication at American University, came to the University of Maryland to meet with faculty, staff, and students because he is one of four finalists for the dean position of the university’s journalism school. 

“The reason I’m nervous,” he said, “is because I really want this job.”

He really wants the job despite having led American University’s School of Communication for only two years. When asked why he is considering leaving, he hedged.

“I’m not leaving. Nobody has offered me your job. I haven’t gone – I’m still at AU,” he said. “I am talking to people here. And I’m interested, but I haven’t gone anywhere yet.”

When pressed about his potential move, he would say only that a search firm approached him and he is “exploring the opportunity.” 

Fulwood has worked in a variety of jobs, some journalism, some not. He started out as a metro reporter, and then a Washington correspondent, and later a columnist for a few newspapers. He then founded the Leadership Institute at the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank. He also served as an advisor for Tom Perriello, a Virginia gubernatorial candidate who lost to Ralph Northam, before joining American University as a researcher in 2020. A year later, he became dean of the School of Communication. 

“I think of myself as a journalist, first and foremost, because that was all that I ever wanted to do,” he told the room of around 50 people in a third-floor classroom in Knight Hall. But he acknowledged that his resume looks different than that of a traditional journalist. 

One person familiar with the search said that his work with the Center for American Progress put a bit of a stain on his candidacy. The think tank, they noted, is widely seen as another arm of the Democratic Party, so him working for the center and serving as a dean would send a bad signal to others.

“I don’t understand how we would recruit a diverse student body, in every sense of that word, if our top leader is paid to do work for a think tank, or an organization that is basically an extension of one of the major political parties in the country,” they said. “I don’t think it’s unfair to ask the dean of a journalism school to concentrate his professional work on journalism.”

A diverse student body is one of the biggest concerns for Merrill’s undergraduate program. The undergraduate student body is more than 60% white – in a county where not even 3 in 10 people are white according to census data. Merrill administrators blame the lack of diversity on the college not being able to control the admissions process – the Department of Undergraduate Admissions handles the decisions. 

But the demographics of those who apply to the college look similar to those who get into it, according to the former undergraduate student recruiter for the college, Terrence Britt, in a 2021 interview. Britt did not respond to a voicemail asking for comment, and the director of the Office of Undergraduate Admissions as well as Merrill’s new program coordinator for undergraduate recruitment did not respond immediately to voicemails asking for comment. 

Fulwood, who would be the college’s first Black dean, said diversity is top of mind for him, but it needs to be done in a way that is not performative. 

“I think traditionally, issues of diversity and multicultural have fallen into the performative bucket,” he said. “We celebrate Women’s History Month, and then 11 months later, we are doing all the other things. That’s for show, that’s not affecting how we treat women every day.”

Fulwood was inspired to go into journalism after a summer gig at the Charlotte Observer, where he understood that journalism’s job is to inform people. The newspaper had already found out five hours before Nixon made his 8 p.m. speech that he was going to resign and made that the center of its cover page.

Fulwood asked how the newspaper already found the story to which his editor told him that journalism’s job is to find information before others and share it with the public so that people can help govern the country.

“I knew right then no matter what it took, I was going to be a reporter for the rest of my life,” he said.

His life led him through some twists and turns to a deanship at American University. He said while his main job is to raise money for the school, he also sets a mission and builds resources and alliances. In doing so, he said, the best and the brightest in his school can come together and do great work.

But the journalism industry students would learn about under his leadership is rapidly changing.

“Back in the old days,” he said, “there was this wall that separated the journalist from the money. And it was impermeable: You weren’t supposed to deal with any of that stuff. Today there is no wall, there is no money.”

Additionally, individuals are distrusting news media more than ever before. Only around half of Americans surveyedby polling and analytics company Gallup for the Knight Foundation said they have high or moderate trust in the national news media. 

Fulwood noted that it took a long time for the public to distrust the news media so regaining that trust will take a while. 

As dean, his job would be to set a vision for how the next generation of journalists will navigate the changing industry. He said he has an open-door policy.

“I have open hours where students can come in and talk about things. It’s not good for them to degenerate into gripe sessions,” he said. He defined gripe sessions as ones where people come into his office just to vent. “I think that it’s good to hear concerns. But I think they should be concerned with a goal and a spirit of solving a challenge solving a problem, rather than just saying, ‘this is wrong.’”

A person who attended all four sessions said that was unhelpful.

“People who are in leadership positions need to be open to conversation, and critical thinking about how the organization, whatever it happens to be, is functioning,” they said. “Lots of good ideas and progress comes out of so-called great sessions.”

At the end of the day, many seemed to leave this session disappointed.

“I don’t think his presentation was particularly good,” one person said. 

“He’s a very affable guy,” another said. “I certainly wish him well, but he hasn’t distinguished himself in any particular way, during his time at AU.”

Fulwood summed his presentation up by explaining why he wanted the position. 

“You all drill down on journalism, and you do it extremely well,” he said. “And I’d love to be a part of helping you do that.”