Jorge Reina
Schement

Jorge Reina Schement is Distinguished Professor of Communication Policy in the School of Communication and Information (SC&I) with affiliations in American Studies and Latino Studies at Rutgers University-New Brunswick.  He previously served as Vice President and Vice Chancellor for Diversity and Inclusion for Rutgers-New Brunswick and for Rutgers Biological and Health Sciences.  He also served as Dean of SC&I, and chaired the Executive Planning Committee for Rutgers’ 250th Anniversary Commemoration. He was a Distinguished Professor, and cofounder of the Institute for Information Policy at Penn State University. Schement holds a PhD from Stanford University, an MS from the University of Illinois, and a BBA from SMU. He is author of over 250 books, papers, and articles.

As Vice Chancellor, he formally established the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, organized the President’s Diversity Council, the Chancellor’s Pathways Council, as well as the first Diversity Forum and Diversity Almanac. He authored the diversity and inclusion passages for the 2015 Strategic Plan, oversaw the Civic Engagement Collaborative, and sponsored a University library portal for diversity-related materials. As Dean, he recruited and promoted women and minority faculty and staff to their highest numbers in the history of the School. 

A Latino from South Texas, his research focuses on the social and policy implications of the production and consumption of information, especially as they relate to ethnic minorities. He conducted the first study of the impact of minority ownership in broadcasting, and conducted the original research that led to recognition of the Digital Divide. He introduced the idea of Universal Service as an evolving concept in the Telecommunications Act of 1996. His studies of minority ownership contributed to the Supreme Court’s decision in Metro Broadcasting, Inc. v. F.C.C. et al. He has served on editorial boards of 18 academic journals, guest edited the Annual Review of Technology for the Aspen Institute, and is editor-in-chief of the Encyclopedia of Communication and Information. He is an Opinion Contributor for USA Today.

He served on President George W. Bush's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, the Technology Advisory Committee for Governor Jerry Brown of California, and authored the telecommunications policy agenda for the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.  Schement served on the Transition Team for New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy, and a member of the Steering Committee for the Governor’s Diversity Council. He is a founding member of the FCC Federal Advisory Committee on Diversity in the Digital Age. He served as an advisor to the FCC Transition Team for President Barack Obama, and for President Joe Biden.

Schement has served on boards for the National Academy of Sciences, National Research Council, National Science Foundation, National Endowment for the Humanities, Office of Technology Assessment, U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, Centers for Disease Control, Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey, Media Access Project, Libraries for the Future, Tomás Rivera Policy Institute, Center for Media Education, Internet Policy Institute, American Library Association, Minority Media Telecommunications Council, New Millennium Research Council, Open Society Institute, Advertising Council, Benton Foundation, Aspen Institute, MCI, Sprint, Verizon, Pew Project on Internet and American Life, the New Jersey Folk festival, and the Harwood Institute. He chaired the board of directors of TPRC Inc.

Reina Schement’s research has been supported by the Ford Foundation, Markle Foundation, Rainbow Coalition, Port Authority of NY/NJ, Federal Aviation Administration, Federal Communications Commission, National Science Foundation, Corporation for Public Broadcasting, Verizon, Lockheed-Martin. He has received awards for his policy scholarship from the International Communication Association, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Pace University, the University of Kentucky, UCLA, and Penn State. Schement has served on the editorial boards of twelve academic journals, and has edited the Annual Review of Technology for the Aspen Institute. He is editor-in-chief of the Encyclopedia of Communication and Information.

His research contributed to a Supreme Court decision in Metro Broadcasting, Inc. v. F.C.C. et al. In 1994, he directed the F.C.C.’s Information Policy Project and conducted the original research that led to recognition of the Digital Divide. In 2008, he advised the F.C.C. Transition Team for the Obama administration. He introduced the idea of Universal Service as an evolving concept, a view adopted in the Telecommunications Act of 1996. The movement to integrate community museums, libraries, and public broadcasting as Partners in Public Service began in a project he co-directed. He conducted the first study of the impact of minority ownership in broadcasting, and authored the telecommunications policy agenda for the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. He co-founded the Institute for Information Policy at Penn State Univ. Schement has served on advisory boards for the National Academy of Sciences, National Research Council, National Science Foundation, National Endowment for the Humanities, President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, Office of Technology Assessment, United States Commission on Civil Rights, Centers for Disease Control, Governor of California, Media Access Project, Libraries for the Future, Tomás Rivera Policy Institute, Center for Media Education, Internet Policy Institute, American Library Association, Minority Media Telecommunications Council, New Millennium Research Council, Open Society Institute, Advertising Council, Benton Foundation, Aspen Institute, MCI, Verizon, and Pew Project on Internet and American Life. He chaired the board of directors of TPRC Inc. He is listed in, 2007, Hispanic Business’ “100 Most Influential Hispanics.”