College of Journalism and Communications Interim Dean Appointment

Published: November 5th, 2020

Category: Memos

Joseph Glover, Provost and Senior Vice President

I am pleased to announced that Spiro Kiousis, executive associate dean of the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications, has been appointed interim dean effective Jan. 1, 2021.

Diane McFarlin will retire at the end of the year after eight years as dean. Hub Brown, associate dean and associate professor at the Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University, was named last week to succeed her effective July 1.

Spiro is a professor of public relations. Previously, he served as chair of the Department of Public Relations from 2006 to 2012, was director of distance education for the college from 2010 to 2013, and was a University of Florida Research Foundation Professor from 2009 to 2011. From 2013 to 2014, he was selected as an SEC Academic Leadership Development Program fellow from Southeastern Conference universities.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in mass media from the University of San Francisco, a master’s degree in media studies from Stanford University, and a doctorate in journalism from the University of Texas at Austin. His current research interests include political public relations, political communication, and digital communication. Specifically, this interdisciplinary research explores the interplay among political public relations efforts, news media content, and public opinion in traditional and interactive mass mediated contexts.

I am grateful to Spiro for his willingness to step in and lead the college during this transition. Please join me in congratulating him.

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