Christine Martin , who has served as interim dean of West Virginia Universitys Perley Isaac Reed School of Journalism for the past year, will take over the permanent post effective immediately.
The news comes just one day before Martin leaves for Vietnam to pursue her research interest in women war correspondent who covered the conflict. The event ties in with the observance of the 25th anniversary of the fall of Saigon, and she will be accompanied there by colleague George Esper and journalism student Melinda Young.
Provost Gerald Lang lauded Martin for her leadership and vision in preparing the school for the 21st century.
“Chris has demonstrated this past year her ability to administer the school and work with various constituency groupsfrom alumni, friends, students and faculty to visiting committee members, donors and the media. She is well respected and grounded in the professional community and has my full confidence as she continues to lead the school into the 21st century.”
Martin, a native of Jeannette, Pa., said she is delighted to be given the challenge of leading the school.”Im honored that I will be able to continue to work with the Schools superb faculty, staff, students, visiting committee and alums in building and achieving a vision of excellence. I love the Journalism School, so it is truly an honor to be given this role in its future.”
Martin, the schools sixth dean and first woman to lead the school, came to WVU in 1990. The associate professor of journalism also directed the writing program, chaired the news editorial sequence and coordinated the schools Honors Program.
An award-winning teacher, she is a 1999 Freedom Forum Teacher of the Year as one of Americas best teachers; a 1988 Carnegie Foundation Professor of the Yearthe only one in West Virginia; a 1997-98 WVU Foundation Outstanding Teacher; and the 1996-97 Journalism Teacher of the Year.
Prior to coming to WVU , she taught writing, literature and journalism at Washington Jefferson College in Washington, Pa., and worked as a reporter, education writer and news editor for the Pittsburgh Tribune Review and the Uniontown Herald-Standard.
She is the recipient of several grants one from the Freedom Forum for a project on oral histories and biographies of women Vietnam War correspondents and an accompanying documentary; and the Judith Gold Stitzel Award in Womens Studies that also supports this project and a recent panel discussion by these women, to be aired nationally on C-Span.
An innovator, Martin recently brought Journalism Week back to campus after a long hiatus, and attracted two award-winning national journalists to campus to fill the endowed Shott Chair in Journalism. She is currently working to incorporate an integrated marketing component into the schools curriculum.
Martin also conducts writing workshops for newspapers across the state, and initiated a program that unites WVU and state newsrooms called”Bridging the Gap: A Personnel and Resource Exchange.”
Each summer, she co-directs the reporting and writing fellowship program for college graduates at the internationally acclaimed Poynter Institute for Media Studies in St. Petersburg, Fla.
Martin earned her undergraduate degree in English from California University (Pa.), and a masters degree from the University of Maryland. She is currently completing a Ph.D. in American studies there.
Martin replaces William T. Slater who left in May to head up a similar program at the University of Nevado-Reno.
Dean William Deaton of the College of Human Resources and Education headed the national search.