FROM THE DEAN
Innovating Journalism – the ASU Way University leaders everywhere talk – often with great passion – about the need for innovation in higher education. Far too often, however, such discussions amount to little more than academic exercises. Many, if not most, American universities today operate largely as they did two, three and four decades ago. These venerable institutions, designed for the Industrial Age, struggle with the fast-paced needs of students in the Digital Age. But here at Arizona State University, innovation has been an integral part of our fabric since the day Michael M. Crow arrived in 2002 as our 16th president. And central to our redesign of the American university is our mission to create an institution that measures itself not by how exclusive it is but by how inclusive it can be and how well its students succeed. The Cronkite School embraces that mission, which is particularly critical in journalism, where innovation and inclusiveness are key to the future of the profession. As you read the pages of our latest Cronkite Journal, you’ll learn about new partnerships with Facebook and Google News Lab. You’ll read about the remarkable work being done by students who are exploring the outer limits of virtual reality and other cutting-edge technologies to better tell stories and inform citizens. You’ll see a commitment to team building, collaboration and peer-to-peer learning on the part of professors such as Retha Hill, who appears on this year’s Journal cover with some of her student innovators in the New Media Innovation and Entrepreneurship Lab. Cronkite’s passion for innovation is perhaps best on display at Innovation Day, a celebration of how technology can better inform society through journalism. Eric Newton, the school’s inaugural innovation chief and founder of Innovation Day, says the annual event “accelerates our thinking” about the future of news. It does.
But in many ways, the biggest innovation of the Cronkite School is its core design. Taken from medical education, Cronkite has created a journalistic “teaching hospital” in which top professionals teach, guide, mentor and inspire the best and brightest students in immersive learning environments. The result is unparalleled learning opportunities combined with the delivery of critically important news and information serving our communities, state, region and nation. The array of professional immersion programs continues to grow with the addition of the Sports Knowledge Lab, part of the new Global Sport Institute, and an expansion of Cronkite Noticias, the Spanish-language newscast and digital news site that is part of Cronkite News. And the school continues to extend its reach through Arizona PBS and a new channel devoted to teaching our youngest viewers. Cronkite also continues to innovate with how it delivers content to students globally with two new all-online programs in business journalism and the fast-growing field of digital audiences and analytics. Making all of this possible is a superb faculty to which we’ve added even more stars – leaders like Sarah Cohen, the Pulitzer Prize-winning data editor of The New York Times, who joins us as our newest Knight Chair; Walter V. “Robby” Robinson, the Pulitzer-winning editor of The Boston Globe’s legendary Spotlight team; borderlands professors Vanessa Ruiz of 12News and Fernanda Santos of The New York Times; and pioneering sports journalist Paola Boivin of The Arizona Republic. Our full-time faculty has nearly tripled since the school was made an independent college in 2005. And much of the growth comes from private philanthropy. Cronkite now has eight privately endowed chairs and professorships, including one funded by adidas and another by family and friends of our dear friend, the late Gannett executive Sue Clark-Johnson. The Cronkite School’s rise and continued growth depends greatly on the generosity of supporters, large and small. Ultimately, what makes the Cronkite School so special is our students, an inspiring collection of smart, hardworking, passionate and creative people from around the country and around the world who fill every section of the Cronkite Journal. I hope you enjoy reading about the latest advances of the Cronkite School in the pages to follow. Please come for a visit or drop me a note to share your thoughts and ideas about our school and our disciplines at ccallahan@asu.edu. Christopher Callahan Dean, University Vice Provost and Arizona PBS CEO
Cronkite Dean Christopher Callahan addresses a group of leaders from the University of Guadalajara participating in an innovation leadership program at ASU. Photo by Deanna Dent/ASUNow 2
The Cronkite Journal
2017-2018