Rawlins is Interim Director of School of Media and Journalism
JONESBORO – Brad Rawlins becomes the interim director of the School of Media and Journalism at Arkansas State University, Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Communications Carl Cates announced this week.
Formed earlier this year, the School of Media and Journalism encompasses programs previously in the department of media as well as student media and public radio assets of the college.
“I am thankful that Brad has accepted the challenge of launching our new School of Media and Journalism during this inaugural year,” Cates said. “It’s important to have someone with such a strong background in administration for our new school and prepare it for the heightened visibility we’re planning for these signature programs of Arkansas State.”
Rawlins has served in several administrative roles for A-State, most recently as the vice rector for Arkansas State’s Campus Queretaro.
“I’m thrilled to work with the excellent faculty and staff of the newly formed School of Media and Journalism,” Rawlins said. “This next year will be very important for the school and I look forward to collaborating with everyone on reaching several milestone goals and accomplishments in the next year. The media and journalism landscape is constantly changing, so there are always exciting challenges and opportunities for our programs, students and faculty. The new name and structure will allow us to meet these challenges and opportunities head on and I look forward to working with the distinguished alumni and professionals of Arkansas and the Delta region to ensure that we are addressing the needs of media and journalism for our students, the university, the professions and the region.”
He returned to Jonesboro as a professor of communication, taking the spring 2019 semester as a sabbatical to work on research and his resumption of classroom duties.
Rawlins was previously the dean of the College of Media and Communication before it was merged with two other colleges as part of the university’s effort to be more efficient and promote cross-disciplinary synergy. Rawlins has two Bachelor of Arts degrees from Washington State University, one in communications and one in foreign languages and literature (Spanish). He earned a Master of Arts degree in advertising and public relations and a Ph.D. in mass communication from the University of Alabama.
Rawlins also has extensive national connections in media and journalism, having served as the president of the Association of Schools in Journalism and Mass Communication, a two-term member of the Accrediting Committee of the Accrediting Council for Schools of Journalism and Mass Communication, and currently serves on several editorial boards of journalism and communication scholarly journals.
# # #
