We released the summer 2020 edition of the SC&I newsletter and there are a number of important university and SC&I news items to share. As of July 1, 2020, Rutgers welcomed Jonathan Holloway as our 21st president. President Holloway assumes leadership at a unique time in our school’s history when the bulk of fall teaching will be delivered remotely to students. It’s a time of social, economic, and racial unrest in our country, fueled in part by the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s also a time when our faculty and graduate students are producing excellent, thought-provoking research. Read Dean Potter’s note in the current issue to learn more.

Looking ahead to a bright future, we are thrilled to welcome six new faculty members this fall. Please visit our website and view their expanded profiles: 

• Tawfiq Ammari (LIS)
• Shawnika Hull (Comm)
• Yonaira Rivera (Comm)
• Megan Threats (LIS)
• Maria Venetis (Comm)
• DaJung (DJ) Woo (Comm)

We’re excited about the launch of a particularly relevant new master’s program next January. The Master of Health Communication and Information will explore critical systems and interactions that support wellness in interpersonal, community, organizational, and public settings.

We congratulate long-time faculty member Nicholas Belkin, who, after 35 years at SC&I and a world-renowned career, has transitioned to Distinguished Professor Emeritus status. Through Belkin’s influence and that of his colleagues, Rutgers became one of the very first universities in the country to have an interdisciplinary idea about Library and Information Science and its close connection to communication and information.

And finally, we call your attention to Gloria Steinem Endowed Chair Naomi Klein’s Emmy nomination for “A Message from the Future with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez,” a Short Film Produced for The Intercept.

Check out our latest issue to learn more about these stories and follow along with the outstanding research being done at SC&I and by our impressive alumni.