New Dean Heads New Journalism School at Ole Miss

Ben Pressley

The journalism department at the University of Mississippi has a new name.  It’s now called the Meek School of Journalism and New Media.  The change was made after the department was approved by the IHL to become an independent school in July of 2009.

Morris H. Stocks, Provost and Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs, also announced in May that Dr. Will Norton would be serving as the dean of the new school.

“Dr. Norton is an accomplished administrator who has led the University of Nebraska College of Journalism and Mass Communications for the last 19 years,” Stocks said.

While at Nebraska in 2005, Norton was recognized by Scripps Howard as the Journalism Administrator of the Year for his work in international studies, and he says he hopes to bring that international focus to Ole Miss.  Norton says, “International studies provide an opportunity to students to see the world and experience what real journalists experience on a day to day basis.”

One of the things that made Norton a good candidate for the job is the fact that so much at Ole Miss is already familiar to him.  Norton previously served 13 years as the chair of the journalism department at Ole Miss, so he knows about the university’s teaching mission.

“When you’re a state institution, you have a moral and financial obligation to the people who pay taxes, to provide their students… their children.. with the best education possible,”  says Norton.

On September 21, a public reception was held in honor of Dr. Norton in the Overby Center at Farley Hall on campus.

~ by Ben Pressley on October 2, 2009.