After a 19-month national search, the School of Mass Communication and Journalism has chosen their director from within.
College of Liberal Arts Dean Steven Rosenstone closed the search Friday, naming Albert Tims director of the school. Tims has been the school’s interim director since August 1997.
Tims, who received his doctorate in mass communication from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, has been a professor at the University since 1987. Before teaching at the University, he was a foreign affairs specialist and foreign opinion analyst for the U.S. Information Agency. He also taught at Indiana University from 1982 to 1987.
Though the position will take up much of his time, Tims will continue to teach introductory classes in subjects such as advertising and public relations, he said.
The highlight of Tims’ tenure as interim director has been the creation of the New Media Initiative.
After a 15-year downturn in faculty, student and monetary strength, the school developed the initiative to jump-start its declining reputation.
In the spring of 1998, the state Legislature decided to fund the initiative, which places emphasis on the use of digital communication methods like the Internet.
“Al got the school moving again,” said Daniel Wackman, a journalism professor at the University. “Choosing anyone else would have slowed down the momentum of rebuilding the school.”

— Nicole Vulcan