This announcement by Francine Conway, Ph.D., Chancellor-Provost, Rutgers University-New Brunswick, was emailed to the Rutgers University community on February 2, 2022. 

Dean Jonathan Potter has announced his decision to step down from his administrative role and duties as Dean of the School of Communication and Information (SC&I), effective June 30, to focus on his scholarship and research as Distinguished Professor. During the coming months, Dean Potter and I will work together to ensure a smooth transition, including the selection of an interim dean whose service will begin July 1. A national search will be conducted to appoint Dean Potter’s eventual successor.

Since he began his tenure in August 2015, Dean Potter has restructured SC&I’s leadership to provide more effective management in teaching, research, and administration; emphasized whole career mentoring; and focused on high-quality scholarship, cross-unit collaboration, and the hiring of visionary scholars. He supported research at the boundary of health and wellness that, in 2021, culminated in the launch of the master’s degree in health communication and information. He encouraged collaboration with departments in the School of Arts and Sciences in support of a new major in data science and helped conclude the fundraising campaign for the Gloria Steinem Endowed Chair in Media, Culture, and Feminist Studies.

As you know, the School of Communication and Information, which was established in 1982 but whose roots go back nearly a century, teaches and conducts research on organizational communication, social and new media, library and information science, journalism and media studies, health communication, and information technology, and prepares students for top careers in today’s digital environment.

Please join me in thanking Dean Potter for his continuing service to Rutgers, and in wishing him the best of luck in his scholarship and research.