John Lumpkin announces plans to retire from TCU
John Lumpkin, director of the Schieffer School of Journalism and Strategic Communication at Texas Christian University, has announced his plans to retire at the end of the 2013-14 academic year. A search for his successor is underway, accompanied by national advertisements for the position.
Lumpkin wrote of his intentions in a letter to journalism and strategic communication majors this past week.
"It has been a high mark in my 47 years in journalism to have been at the Schieffer School and engaged you in pursuit of education that will enable you to pursue your professional dreams," said Lumpkin in the letter.
He also said, "When I moved from a long career as an AP executive to Schieffer School in 2009, a departure in this time frame was envisioned. The search for a new director has begun and I'm confident your education will be in good hands. Indeed, in the tumult of media change, new perspectives will be critical and I know the search committee will heed that for your benefit."
Lumpkin was appointed director of the Schieffer School of Journalism in 2009 after 37 years with The Associated Press, the world's largest news gathering organization at the time. He was the AP vice president for newspaper markets in the U.S. and Latin America after serving in numerous other capacities, including bureau reporter, editor, regional correspondent and regional bureau chief.
A search firm has been hired to review applicants for the new director, effective June 1, 2014. The search firm will work with a 12-member search committee of TCU faculty and students. Dr. Daxton Stewart, associate dean of the TCU College of Communication and an associate journalism professor, is chair of the committee.
According to Dr. Stewart, the new director will need to demonstrate recent experience in journalism or the fields encompassed by strategic communication. He also said academic administrative experience in journalism or strategic communication will be strongly considered.
During Lumpkin's tenure, the journalism curriculum was completely rewritten to emphasize converged media, the strategic communication program adopted a secondary application process to make it more competitive, TCU student media became a leader in transforming to a digital-first news organization and composite SAT scores rose significantly among entering first-year students.
Ties to major national news organizations were forged, including ESPN, CBS News and POLITICO, and students won competitions against professional media organizations in both journalism and public relations. Two Schieffer School students were selected as Fulbright Scholars.
The Schieffer School of Journalism was recently renamed the Schieffer School of Journalism and Strategic Communication to reflect all of its disciplines. It has more than 600 majors, among the largest academic units at TCU, and, at one time last year, 70 minors in journalism. It is housed in the Moudy Building, which was expanded and renovated in 2010 as a part of a $5.6 million capital campaign to provide the technological infrastructure for media studies of the future.
The Schieffer School is named for a legend in news broadcasting, Bob Schieffer, moderator of CBS's Face the Nation and senior Washington correspondent for CBS News. Schieffer and his wife Pat, who is a TCU trustee, are alumni of TCU, and he hosts the annual Schieffer Symposium on the News, which will celebrate its 10th anniversary in 2014.
Asked about next steps, Lumpkin said, "My plans are to focus on continued progress of Schieffer School to become a distinguished national program in journalism and strategic communication and pave the way for the planned transition to new leadership in another year. I don't want to dilute that effort by pursuing another assignment in the short term."
Before joining AP, he worked as a reporter for the Richmond Times-Dispatch and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. His older son, John J. Lumpkin, was a journalism graduate of TCU and editor of the TCU Daily Skiff. His wife Eileen was a 1968 graduate in journalism at TCU and both her late mother and father were TCU graduates.
Keywords
Lumpkin, Texas Christian University
