University of California, Berkeley

Dean, School of Journalism

The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley) seeks a visionary, forward-looking, and community-oriented leader to serve as the next dean of the Graduate School of Journalism (UC Berkeley Journalism). The dean will have a profound opportunity to shape the future of journalism and journalism education, empowering the next generation of journalists to lead with integrity and creativity.

UC Berkeley is internationally renowned for excellence across all disciplines; for the opportunities it affords students of all backgrounds; and for scientific discovery, innovation, and cultural creativity. Consistently ranked as the No. 1 public university, the Berkeley campus is home to over 33,000 undergraduate students and more than 12,500 graduate students, as well as approximately 1,600 ladder-rank faculty across 15 schools and colleges. Berkeley’s professors are highly distinguished researchers, scholars, and leading experts in their field as attested by their many Nobel Prizes, Pulitzers, other distinguished awards, and memberships in the most prestigious learned societies.

UC Berkeley Journalism has been equipping exceptional students with the core values, time-honored skills and innovative tools to reveal and report the truth for over five decades. Never has the need been greater to prepare the next generation of professionals committed to reporting on contemporary realities with precision, care, and eloquence; professionals who care deeply about the values and civic purpose that make journalism indispensable to a democratic society. One of the few two-year immersive master’s programs in the country—and the only graduate journalism program in the University of California system—UC Berkeley Journalism leverages close faculty contact, small classes, and creative collaboration to prepare tomorrow’s most accomplished journalists to tell stories that matter, to pursue and disseminate the truth, and to be catalysts for justice, human rights, and meaningful change. Students choose UC Berkeley Journalism for its generous financial aid, moving toward a debt-free experience, funded summer internships for every student between years one and two, and an opportunity to join the largest local news fellowship in the country, post-graduation. The school enrolls approximately 60 students in each two-year master’s degree cohort and is anchored by a remarkable corps of 15 Senate and adjunct faculty and 21 active lecturers.

Reporting directly to the executive vice chancellor and provost, the dean will lead the school in fulfilling its mission of advancing journalism education and practice, while shaping the future of journalism and journalism education. The dean will focus their vision-setting work on adapting journalism education to a rapidly changing media landscape, building a more inclusive community of faculty, staff, students, and enhancing collaboration and shared purpose within the school and across the broader campus. The dean will manage resources thoughtfully, working with campus partners, the school’s Advisory Board, alumni, donors, and others to increase philanthropic support for the school’s faculty, programs, and students. As the leader of the school, the dean will serve on the university’s Council of Deans, collaborate on university-wide initiatives, and engage with diverse constituent groups to build support for the future of journalism education at UC Berkeley. Berkeley has a strong tradition of governance that is shared between the Administration and the Academic Senate. An appreciation of this model, and the ability to work within it, will help the new dean to be effective.

The next dean must have a sophisticated and contemporary understanding of journalism, insight into the opportunities, challenges, and demands the field will face in the future, and the insight to anticipate the implications of this landscape for the next generation of aspiring journalists. The Graduate School of Journalism seeks a dean with substantive leadership and administrative experience, who possesses a national or international reputation as an expert practitioner or scholar within the field. The next dean must be comfortable acting as a thought leader and be part of the national conversation on journalism.

The ideal candidate will have prior academic experience or demonstrate a willingness and ability to learn the specific demands of journalism within an academic environment. The ideal candidate for this position must have an advanced degree or a minimum of 10 years of professional journalism experience. The incoming dean must merit a tenured appointment as a full professor. In reviewing candidates for tenure, the UC Berkeley Journalism looks principally for superior practitioners of journalism, in whatever form of the craft. Candidates with evidence of high scholarly research, publications and/or media analysis are also encouraged to apply.

For the full position profile, please visit: https://wittkieffer.com/positions/200457

To be considered as a candidate, applicants must submit, as separate documents, a CV or resume and a letter of interest addressing the themes in this profile.

WittKieffer is assisting UC Berkeley in this search. For full consideration, candidate materials should be received by Friday, January 24, 2025.

Application materials should be sent to WittKieffer via email to: and applicants must also apply directly to UC Berkeley at https://apptrkr.com/5850253

Nominations and inquiries can be directed to:
Suzanne Teer, Alejandra Gillette-Teran, and Bree Liddell

The posted University of California Deans’ Salary Bands (https://www.ucop.edu/academic-personnel-programs/compensation/deans-salary-structure/deans-salary-bands.html) set the pay ranges for deans. The Dean of Berkeley Journalism position is in Band 1: $199,700 – $509,900. The minimum salary that UC Berkeley expects to pay for this position is $360,000.

UC Berkeley offers excellent benefits, including medical, dental, vision and retirement plans as well as moving, relocation, and housing assistance.

Diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging are core values at UC Berkeley. Our excellence can only be fully realized by faculty, students, and academic and non-academic staff who share our commitment to these values. Successful candidates for our academic positions will demonstrate evidence of a commitment to advancing equity, inclusion, and belonging.

The University of California, Berkeley is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, or protected veteran status. For the complete University of California nondiscrimination and affirmative action policy see: http://policy.ucop.edu/doc/4000376/NondiscrimAffirmAct

This position is a sensitive position and is subject to a criminal background check.

Questions may be referred to Sumali Tuchrello at .