Janice Hume named Grady College associate dean for academic affairs

Grady College has announced the appointment of Janice Hume, the Carolyn McKenzie and Don E. Carter Chair for Excellence in Journalism, as the new associate dean for academic affairs effective Aug. 1, 2022.

Hume is currently the Department of Journalism Head and will assume the associate dean position from María E. Len-Ríos (MA ’95) who is joining the University of Minnesota as associate director of the Hubbard School of Journalism.

“Dr. Hume has been a stellar leader in the College, and the Journalism department has been as strong as ever under her leadership as department chair,” said Charles N. Davis, dean of Grady College. “The addition of Dr. Hume to this next level of our leadership team will ensure that we continue progress toward our commitment to excellence, growth and educational leadership on behalf of our students.”

In her new role, Hume will continue as the named Carter Chair which was awarded to her in 2015.

“The College means a lot to me,” Hume said, “and I look forward to serving it in a new way. I’m excited about the challenge.”

Hume joined Grady College in 2001 and became Department of Journalism head in 2013. She teaches courses in media history, ethics & diversity and media credibility on the undergraduate and graduate level. Her research focuses on American journalism history, public memory and media coverage of death and is frequently quoted in the media about the role obituaries have in collective memory. Hume received her Ph.D., master’s and bachelor of journalism degrees from the University of Missouri.

Prior to joining UGA, Hume spent twelve years as a newspaper reporter and features editor. She was lifestyle and arts editor at the Mobile Register (Alabama) and she served on the faculty of the A.Q. Miller School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Kansas State University. She has authored three books including her most recent, “Popular Media and the American Revolution.” She has also published research in a number of academic journals, including “Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly,” “Journalism History” and “American Journalism,” among others.

Hume has been the recipient of the American Journalism Historians Association’s National Award for Excellence in Teaching. She is an SEC Academic Leadership Development Program Fellow and served on the Scripps Howard Academic Leadership Academy.

“I am forever grateful to the faculty and staff in Journalism,” Hume added. “They are a remarkable, talented group of scholars, teachers and colleagues. They always step up when needed, and that has made my time as department head a real joy.”