Medill Dean to Retire

By Chuck Sudo in News on Sep 21, 2011 3:40PM

John Lavine, the Dean of Northwestern's Medill School of Journalism, announced his retirement this morning. Lavine will retire Aug. 31, 2012.

Lavine took over as Medill Dean in 2006 after 16 years at the university's Kellogg School of Management, where he founded and chaired the school's media management major for MBAs. Lavine launched the "Medill 2020" plan, aimed at bringing Medill's curriculum up to prepare its students for a rapidly changing media landscape. Lavine addressed what he called the program's successes in his statement.

It has been quite an odyssey. Together we've accomplished far more than was envisioned in our Medill 2020 plan. Along the way, we've faced and overcome major challenges, as well as some controversies; when you undertake seismic change, both are inevitable.

What counts is the progress we've made, the foundation for the future that we've built, and the validation of what we've done from external sources -- including leaders of the industries we serve and the unprecedented evaluation last spring from the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications. Our faculty and curricula lead the country. Despite the tough economy, employers here and abroad seek out our graduates, and Northwestern University Qatar, our undergraduate school in Doha, is about to graduate its first class.

Other controversies that dogged Lavine during his tenure as Medill Dean were accusations he fabricated quotes from unidentified students for an alumni magazine; an investigation into those charges found insufficient evidence to charge Lavine of wrongdoing.

Lavine is also believed to have been the muscle behind the ouster of Medill Innocence Project founder David Protess. Protess was pulled from classes in March and announced his retirement from Medill in June.