Journalism dean search: Many breathe sigh of relief as insider is picked to be next dean

First published Friday, April 21, 2023 in Stories Beneath the Shell.

Many Philip Merrill College of Journalism faculty and staff seemed to breathe a sigh of relief today as it became clear that Rafael Lorente will be the journalism school’s next dean, ending weeks of waiting and nail biting in the college. 

In an interview minutes after Provost Jennifer King Rice announced the decision, he said, as dean, he will prioritize listening before acting and imposing his agenda. 

“I want to listen a little bit first,” he said. “Am I going to wait five years to do anything? No.”

That listening is key, according to senior journalism major and activist Aaron Wright, because the journalism school’s administration has not listened to students of color at the college so far. But, he said, that’s not enough.

“Talk is cheap,” Wright said. “It still feels like a very predominantly white space. It shouldn’t be that way.”

Diversity is among Lorente’s top priorities, he said during his candidate presentation. According to university data, about 65% of the college’s undergraduate students are white —making the journalism school the whitest college on the University of Maryland’s campus by far.

“We’ve got to do better,” Lorente said. 

Lorente said he didn’t know why there is such a lack of diversity in the college but he wants to work with the Department of Admissions to fix the issue. 

But the journalism school and the Department of Admissions, which controls undergraduate admissions at the journalism school, have had a frosty relationship in the past.

“They don’t want to collaborate with us,” Terrence Britt, who was the director of undergraduate recruitment, said in a 2021 interview. 

Lorente wants to start with a clean slate.

“Whatever it’s been in the past. I don’t care,” he said, adding that he wants to work with people in the admissions department to fix the issue. 

It’s important, Lorente said in his presentation, because journalists from a diverse background can listen to residents and tell stories in a new way.

“Diversity is critical if we were to have journalism that truly represents and tells everyone’s stories,” he said. “Without it, we stand zero chance of saving our democracy.”

Part and parcel to the effort will be the journalism school’s new Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion coordinator, Alexis Ojeda-Brown.

“I would like Merrill to have more creative and innovative ways for recruitment that doesn’t just put the focus on admissions and what admissions would or would not let us do,” said Ojeda-Brown, who joined the journalism school two months ago. 

Key to a more diverse student body will also be money, especially money for scholarships that allow low-income students to attend the journalism school. Lorente did not respond to a voicemail asking about his fundraising strategy but said during the interview that he would meet with donors, students, and other deans over food to create a less intimidating environment. 

The journalism school’s faculty and staff voted overwhelmingly to support Lorente as dean on April 5, sources familiar with the vote told Stories Beneath the Shell. The provost picked Lorente and three other candidates picked as finalists. The other candidates were Nicole Carroll, the outgoing editor-in-chief of USA Today, Dorothy Bland, a professor and former dean at the Mayborn School of Journalism at the University of North Texas, and Sam Fulwood III, the dean of American University’s School of Communication. Lorente will replace current dean Lucy Dalglish on July 1.

Familiarity with faculty and staff gave Lorente a huge leg up, Wright said.

“It seems like new dean Lorente kind of had this in the bag from the start, more or less.”

Lorente is the first full-time dean of color at the journalism school. The college has had two Black deans before, Ben Holman and Lee Thornton, but they served only as interim deans. 

Lorente’s parents were immigrants who had little money and didn’t even finish high school, he said. Now he’s the dean of what he called “one of the best” journalism schools in the country. 

Lorente said the new role “means something to me personally.” 

“I was sitting here crying a couple minutes ago when I started reading people’s texts,” he said. “I hope it says something to the students in the building.”

Wright said it’s important to have a dean of color representing the college because they can better understand the challenges the journalism school faces, but Lorente’s actions will mean more than his words..

“It’s great. I like it,” Wright said, “But I’ll just wait until the real work begins before I can say that he was a good dean.”

Lorente says he has an “obscene” amount of energy and is ready to hit the ground running.

“I’m not bored of this place,” Lorente said. “I love the place and it is the absolute honor of my life to get a chance to see where we can go and to help us go, to help us be greater and better. It’s really just an honor. And I know that sounds like a big cliche, but it’s true.”