OXFORD, Miss. – Will Norton, founding dean of the new Ed and Becky
Meek School of Journalism and New Media at the University of
Mississippi, is the guest of honor at a public reception Sept. 21 in
Farley Hall.
Co-hosts for the 3 p.m. event are the school’s benefactors, Ed and
Becky Meek, and Charles Overby, CEO of the Freedom Forum for whom UM’s
Overby Center for the Study of Southern Politics and Journalism is
named.
Norton served 13 years as chair of UM’s Department of
Journalism before becoming journalism dean at the University of
Nebraska-Lincoln in 1990. UM Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic
Affairs Morris Stocks said he’s pleased that Norton has returned to the
university.
“Dr. Norton is an accomplished administrator who has led the
University of Nebraska College of Journalism and Mass Communications
for the last 19 years,” Stocks said. “As dean, he has provided
outstanding leadership, has built strong relationships with alumni and
the profession and has led the program to a position of national
prominence. I am confident that his experience and ability will serve
our school and the university well.”
Alumni Ed and Becky Meek donated $5.3 million toward the
school’s creation in 2007. Ed Meek is a former assistant vice
chancellor for public relations and marketing and associate professor
of journalism. For 37 years, he helped shape the university’s public
image, retiring in 1998 to focus on other business interests. Becky
Meek formerly worked at Oxford’s Mental Health Center, now Communicare.
“Becky and I feel we owe the university so much,” Meek said. “We
are delighted to be able to repay Ole Miss a very small part of the
very large debt our family owes for the great opportunities this
university has given to three generations.
“The concept for the school is so exciting. It’s going to create
an academic program in journalism that stays ahead of the curve, looks
into the future and returns to the curriculum an interdisciplinary
approach that will give students a wide range of options.”
Norton said the new school is poised to provide an amazing experience for students.
“We are one of the largest majors on campus,” Norton said. “Here
in the Meek School of Journalism, we seek to educate, inform and
prepare our students to meet a world where ideas move at the speed of
light, yet the foundation of good journalism is forever rooted in
truth, objectivity and good writing.”
In his new post, Norton will assist with fundraising, resource
management and faculty development, as well as research and curriculum
matters. He will lead the creation of a new program culminating in a
Bachelor of Science degree in integrated marketing communications.
Norton holds a doctorate from the University of Iowa and a
master’s from Indiana University, both in mass communications. He
earned a bachelor’s degree in history from Wheaton College.
The university has been teaching, equipping and empowering
students for careers in journalism since 1947. Alumni rank among the
nation’s top communications professionals and hold key positions at
leading news outlets, including The Boston Globe, USA Today, The New
York Times, CNN, Fox News, and at virtually every television station
and newspaper in Mississippi.
The university employs more than 30 journalists, with interests
ranging from communications law to advertising and in-depth reporting,
who work with an average of 500 students each semester to prepare them
for careers in journalism.
For more information, call 662-915-7147. For assistance related to a disability, call 662-915-7146.