Wright to step down as dean

Dear friends of the College of Journalism and Communications,

Please accept my sincere gratitude for all the positive thoughts, prayers and support sent my way during my illness. I am truly overwhelmed and you really did make a difference. I am making progress and anticipate returning to the College as early as next week.

I have other news I want to share with you. My contract as dean of the College of Journalism and Communications runs until January 2013. I want you to be among the first to know that I have submitted a letter to President Bernie Machen and Provost Joe Glover stating that I will return to fulltime faculty duties in the College in 2013 and will not seek reappointment as dean of the College. During the upcoming year the UF administration and College will conduct a search for a new dean.

I look forward to an extremely exciting final year as we continue to enhance our status as one of the elite journalism and communications programs in the world. I am so proud of our accomplishments! Innovative developments across all four departments, our master’s and doctoral programs integrated with exciting new endeavors in our media properties and distance education position us very well for even greater accomplishments in the next few years. You helped build this fine College and I will remain true to my promise to do everything I can to continue to make it better. This means, of course, doing everything I can to support the educational needs of our students and the teaching and research efforts of our faculty.

There are so many wonderful aspects about being dean of this great College, but getting to meet and visit with so many of you is truly among the most rewarding aspects of my entire career. Thank you so much for your support and friendship. As I have said many times, we could never have achieved the level of excellence we now occupy without your help.

I will miss being dean once 2013 arrives, but I look forward to many more years of rewarding experiences working at the University of Florida and I hope our friendship never fades. As always, please let me know if you are passing through Gainesville so we can say hello, and contact me whenever there is any way I can help you.

Thanks again for your wonderful support for me and for the College of Journalism and Communications.

John Wright
Dean and Professor

Posted: January 26, 2012
Category: College News