Philip Merrill College of Journalism | University of Maryland

Washington Correspondent Joins Maryland as Doctoral Fellow, Visiting Prof

For Immediate Release July 7, 2005

COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- Rafael Lorente, a Washington correspondent for the South Florida Sun-Sentinel who has covered two presidential elections and specializes in U.S.-Cuba relations, is joining the University of Maryland’s journalism school as a doctoral fellow and visiting professor.

Lorente begins Aug. 31 as the Scripps Howard Doctoral Fellow at the Philip Merrill College of Journalism. He also will serve as a visiting professor at the school.

Lorente, who received his master’s degree from the Merrill College, is the fifth Scripps Howard Doctoral Fellow. The fellowship, designed by the Scripps Howard Foundation and Maryland to enable top journalists to receive a doctoral degree in journalism, covers all tuition, and provides the recipient with a $35,000 annual stipend. The school’s three-year doctoral program is aimed at journalists who are interested in becoming journalism educators and researchers.

Previous fellowship recipients were Ira Chinoy, computer-assisted reporting specialist at The Washington Post, Tamara Henry, education reporter for USA Today, Marlene Cimons, former Washington-based science writer at The Los Angeles Times, and Natalie Hopkinson, style writer at The Washington Post.

Lorente also will be a visiting professor on the Merrill College faculty, teaching two courses each semester.

“We’re thrilled Rafael will be joining us,” said Dean Thomas Kunkel. “In a few years, Rafael will become what journalism education so desperately needs – a media scholar who has a deep background of professional journalism excellence. And in the meantime, our students will continue to reap the benefits of an extraordinary teacher and mentor.”

A 1990 graduate of the University of Miami, Lorente enrolled in Maryland’s master’s program and served as a Washington correspondent for the school’s Capital News Service program in 1992.

He then served as a local reporter for The Miami Herald before joining the Sun-Sentinel in 1995. He covered the Fort Lauderdale suburbs, the city, the Statehouse and higher education at the nation’s 41st largest daily newspaper before joining the Washington bureau in 1998.

Lorente has appeared on “The McLaughlin Group,” National Public Radio’s “All Things Considered,” led seminars for Investigative Reporters and Editors Inc. and has been an adjunct member of the Merrill College faculty since 2001.

For more information contact: Christopher Callahan, 301.405.2432.