Philip Merrill College of Journalism | University of Maryland

Don Heider Joins Merrill College as Associate Dean

For immediate release, August 11, 2006

COLLEGE PARK, Md.— Dr. Don Heider, an Emmy award-winning journalist, author and educator, has joined the Philip Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland this week as associate dean and an associate professor.

Don Heider As the number two administrator at the Merrill College, Heider will direct the graduate programs, oversee broadcast curriculum and supervise adjunct professors. He joins the college from the University of Texas where he was an associate professor and graduate advisor.

“We’re very pleased that Don has joined our faculty,” said Dean Thomas Kunkel. “Not only is he an accomplished journalist, he’s highly regarded in academic circles, and his research on how minorities are portrayed in broadcast media is widely cited. Our program is going to benefit enormously with Don’s experience in broadcast, his research interests and the qualities he brings as a valuable member of our leadership team.”

Heider replaces Christopher Callahan, who left the Merrill College last summer to become founding dean at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University. Assistant Dean Steve Crane served as acting associate dean while a nation-wide search was completed.

Heider earned his B.A, from Colorado State University, his M.A. from American University and his Ph.D. from the University of Colorado. He spent ten years working in television news as a photographer, reporter, producer and manager before entering academia with teaching appointments at American University, Ole Miss, and the University of Colorado.

An expert on race and class portrayals in the media, Heider’s scholarly work includes Class & News, an edited volume that examines the way in which journalism and journalists construct ideas about class and White News: Why Local News Programs Don’t Cover People of Color, a study of how local news often excludes coverage of communities of color. His most recent book, Managing Television News: A Handbook for Ethical and Effective Producing was written with co-authors Bill Silcock from Arizona State University and Mary Rogus from Ohio University.

During his career Heider received five Emmy awards, a regional Edward R. Murrow, and a Tennessee Associated Press Award. He was also awarded the John Merriman Award by the Writer’s Guild of America. Heider has been honored at the University of Texas with two teaching awards: the Eyes of Texas Award and the Texas Blazers Award, and previously Heider received the Outstanding Faculty Member Award while at Ole Miss.

Heider has previously served as the Division Head for the Radio and Television Journalism Division of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication and twice as the education representative on the Radio and Television News Directors’ Association Board of Directors.

He and his wife Jeanne have three children.

For more information contact: Matthew C. Sheehan at 301.405.8320.