E. Patrick Johnson has been named the next School of Communication dean, according to a Northwestern News release.
Johnson will be the first African American to hold the role when he takes over as dean on Aug. 1.
“I am truly honored and humbled to be selected as the next dean of the School of Communication,” Johnson said in the release.
Johnson, currently the Carlos Montezume Professor of African American Studies and Performance Studies, will lead a school with more than 1,200 undergraduates, 700 graduate students and 170 faculty members, according to the release.
“While I understand the symbolism of my being the first African American appointed to this post — and particularly during a global pandemic and persistence of antiblack racism — my focus as dean will be leading with a moral and ethical imperative to make the School of Communication a place where ‘first’ only refers to our ranking in the world,” Johnson said in the release.
