When Jean Folkerts took over as dean at the UNC School of Journalism

and Mass Communication, University administrators and school faculty,

alumni and friends asked her to lead the school in a direction that

embraced technology and innovation while holding strong to the core

values of journalism and scholarly research.

JEAN FOLKERTS’ TENURE AT CAROLINA

Shaping the future

Folkerts came to Carolina from the School of Media and Public

Affairs at George Washington University where, in 2001, she was

named Teacher of the Year by the Freedom Forum. Her academic

career — which included stints at the University of Texas and

Mount Vernon College in addition to GWU — was preceded by

professional work as a reporter, freelance writer, magazine editor

and assistant press secretary to a Kansas governor.

She served as editor of Journalism & Mass Communication

Quarterly and on editorial boards for other major journals. She

also served on the Association for Education in Journalism and

Mass Communication’s executive board.

Folkerts’ leadership guided Carolina’s J-school to a major

curriculum overhaul; a strong role in the Carnegie-Knight

Initiative on the Future of Journalism Education and the

News21 project; expanded international programs; significant

interdisciplinary and industry partnerships; transformative

facilities upgrades; new scholarships, fellowships and

professorships; and the Reese Felts Digital News and audience

research initiative.

“Together with our alumni, faculty, students and staff, I think we

have created a climate of constant innovation and a desire to

be the best,” Folkerts said.

“Jean is an exceptional, innovative leader in journalism and mass

communication education during a time of great change in the media

industries.” — Chancellor Holden Thorp

“I came to the school in 2006 with a charge to help the school make a transition to the new, digital media environment, and above all — as a donor and longtime friend of the school told me early in my time here — to ‘take good care of our school,’” Folkerts said. “I hope I’ve done that.”

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE FOLKERTS ERA

Folkerts became

dean of the School of

Journalism and Mass

Communication and

Distinguished Alumni

Professor.

Folkerts traveled to 28 N.C. towns and cities and another 13 around

the U.S. to meet with alumni and friends to chart the new course for

journalism and mass communication education at Carolina.

Carolina journalism students

became the first to collaborate

with ESPNU on its Campus

Connection program to employ

students in game broadcasts.

The students helped cover the

UNC vs. UNC-Asheville game

in the Smith Center.

The Carolina News Studio — a partnership

between the J-school and University Relations —

opened in Carroll Hall to provide faculty and

administrators opportunities to share their

expertise broadly with TV and radio outlets.

The symposium “Raising the

Ante: The Internet’s Impact

on Journalism Education

and Existing Theories of

Mass Communication” drew

29 leading researchers and

practitioners for a lively

discussion of new and revised

theories that will guide

journalism and journalism

education in the future.

The UNC Center for Media Law and Policy, a collaborative initiative of

Carolina’s J-school and law school, held its first major event — an address

by Federal Communications Commission chairman Kevin Martin.

July 1, 2006

2007Jan. 9, 2008

March 2008

March 27–28, 2008

March 5, 2007

The school’s M.A./J.D. program accepted its first students

to the dual degree program with the law school.

The school was recommended for re-accreditation from the

Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass

Communication (ACEJMC). In its concluding report, the visiting

team said the school “has earned a reputation as one of the

premier programs in journalism and mass communication.”

Carolina journalism students launched an experimental

reporting website — poweringanation.org — that explores U.S.

energy use. The project is part of the Carnegie-Knight Initiative

on the Future of Journalism Education’s News21 project.

The school implemented a new curriculum that takes

into account changes in the news and communication

industries, including the move toward increased use

of a wider variety of channels to communicate. The

school’s core classes — News Writing, Professional

Problems and Ethics, and Introduction to Mass

Communication Law — remain the same.

August 2007

Feb. 4, 2009

Sept. 6, 2009

July 1, 2009

The school launched

the Carolina del Norte

project focusing on the

implications of a growing

Latino population in

North Carolina. Carolina

del Norte helped lead

to the formation of the

Latino Journalism and

Media (LATIJAM) project

in the school.

The Carnegie Corporation of

New York and the John S. and

James L. Knight Foundation

selected UNC to join 10 other

top journalism schools in the

Carnegie-Knight Initiative

on the Future of Journalism

Education to adapt journalism

education to the challenges of

the news industry.

June 2008

July 7, 2008

The school partnered with the

Beijing Organizing Committee

for the Olympic Games for 31

Carolina J-school students to

travel to China to help cover

the games.

August 2008

The school commemorated 100 years of journalism and mass

communication education at Carolina during the 2009–10 academic

year. The centennial observance began on Sept. 9, the anniversary

of the first meeting of UNC’s first journalism course taught by

Edward Kidder Graham.

Sept. 9, 2009

“She really cares about what you care about … and she’s

devoted to solving any problem no matter how big or how small

if you come to her.” — Rebecca Putterman, reesenews.org

“Jean did it with intelligence and grace.” — Roy Park Jr., Triad Foundation

JEAN FOLKERTS’ TENURE AT CAROLINA

Shaping the future

“You’ve led the School of Journalism and Mass Communication to new heights.

You’ve helped us look over the horizon toward the future of media in North

Carolina and the nation. Thank you for your service to our students, to our

citizens and to this great state.” — Gov. Bev Perdue

The journalism programs at UNC and North Carolina Central

University partnered with Durham civic and church leaders,

volunteers and residents to launch the Northeast Central Durham

Community VOICE, a community news publication serving

Northeast Central Durham (NECD).

Folkerts announced a $4.1 million gift from the estate of UNC

alumnus Reese Felts — the largest single gift ever by an individual

to the school — to fund an experimental student news project and

audience research initiative.

The school hosted a meeting of deans from top journalism

programs participating in the Carnegie-Knight Initiative.

Raleigh attorney Wade Hargrove was honored with the

establishment of an annual media law colloquium at the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Sept. 24, 2009

Oct. 1, 2009

Oct. 4–5, 2009

Oct. 28, 2009

Alumni, friends, faculty, staff and students honored

Dean Jean Folkerts at an April 9

dinner at the Carolina Inn, thanks

to anonymous donors who made

gifts to underwrite the event.

Ed Vick, chair of the school’s

board of advisers, emceed an

evening that included remarks

by UNC Chancellor Holden

Thorp, J-school professor

Cathy Packer, and Al May,

a colleague of Folkerts’ at

George Washington University.

Folkerts surprised her husband

Leroy Towns — a strategic

communication professor in the

school — with a gift naming the

Leroy Towns Atrium in the school.

The dinner included a video

tribute to Dean Folkerts. View the

video at youtube.com/uncjschool.

The school increased its focus

on the business side of digital

media with the creation of a

new Knight Chair in Digital

Advertising and Marketing,

funded by the John S. and

James L. Knight Foundation.

The school accepted applications for

the new Master of Arts in Technology

and Communication, a master’s

degree for working professionals

taught entirely online. The first class

will enroll in fall 2011.

The school announced a new business

journalism undergraduate major that

will begin in the 2011–12 academic

year in partnership with the Kenan-

Flagler Business School.

The school announced a new partnership

with Bloomberg News in which its editors

and reporters will teach a business

reporting course in the school.

The school set its record for

fundraising — $7.7 million

in private gifts — in a year.

Since Folkerts became dean,

donors established four new

distinguished professorships

and many new graduate and

undergraduate scholarships

while the school significantly

increased grant applications

and research funding.

The school dedicated its newly

converted high definition

television studio, funded with

a $400,000 gift from Capitol

Broadcasting Co.

Pioneering innovative ways of

delivering news and information, the

school launched reesenews.org, an

experimental news website designed

to give students multimedia experience

and to help small- and medium-sized

news organizations better understand

consumer uses of media.

The school hosted the 35th

annual Association for

Education in Journalism

and Mass Communication

(AEJMC) Southeast

Colloquium in Chapel Hill.

The school partnered with

several other organizations

to co-sponsor the 2010

World Wide Web Conference

(WWW2010) in Raleigh.

The school finished first

overall in the Intercollegiate

Competition of the 50th annual

Hearst Journalism Awards,

often called the Pulitzers of

college journalism.

March 12, 2010 Jan. 1, 2011

February 2011

April 18, 2011

June 30, 2010

Sept. 24, 2010

Nov. 2, 2010

March 11–13, 2010

April 26–30, 2010

June 11, 2010