By Francine Conway, Ph.D., Chancellor-Provost, Rutgers University-New Brunswick

I am delighted to announce that Dafna Lemish, Associate Dean for Programs and Distinguished Professor of Journalism and Media Studies, will lead the School of Communication and Information as Interim Dean, effective July 1, 2022.

Dr. Lemish has had a distinguished career as a scholar, researcher, and administrator, having served at Tel Aviv University as Chair of the Department of Communication from 2001 through 2006; and at Southern Illinois University as Chair of the Department of Radio, Television, and Digital Media from 2010 to 2012 and as Interim Dean and Dean of the College of Mass Communication and Media Arts from 2012 to 2016. She joined Rutgers–New Brunswick as Professor and Associate Dean for Programs in 2016 and became a Distinguished Professor in 2019. In 2020 she received the Rutgers Board of Trustees Award for Excellence in Research.

Dr. Lemish has made significant scholarly achievements in the areas of children and media, gender representation and identity construction, media literacy, qualitative methodologies, and feminist theory. She has published numerous books, journal articles, and chapters, and most recently edited Children and Media Worldwide in a Time of Pandemic (Peter Lang, 2022) and The Routledge International Handbook of Children, Adolescents, and Media (Routledge, 2022). 

As Interim Dean, Dr. Lemish will replace Dean Jonathan Potter, who earlier this year announced his decision to step down from his administrative role and duties, effective June 30, to focus on his scholarship and research as a Distinguished Professor.

Please join me in congratulating Dr. Lemish and thanking her for taking on this important responsibility, and again thanking Dean Potter for his continuing service. 

More information about the Rutgers School of Communication and Information is on the website.