Dunwoody named to Grad School post

Sharon Dunwoody, an internationally recognized journalism educator and scholar, has been named interim associate dean for the social sciences in the Graduate School.

Dunwoody is director of the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, a post she will retain in addition to her new Graduate School appointment. Dunwoody has agreed to serve as interim associate dean for the coming year.

Dunwoody joined the UW–Madison faculty in 1981 and now holds the Evjue-Bascom Professorship in Journalism. She is well known for her work in the areas of science journalism and risk communication.

Interim Graduate School Dean Martin Cadwallader says Dunwoody brings to the job a wealth of administrative experience, an outstanding scholarly pedigree and a deep commitment to the social sciences.

“We are very excited about having her as part of our administrative team,” Cadwallader says. “Her commitments to research, to quality graduate education and to the university as a whole have long been evident and we think she’s going to be a tremendous help to us as the Graduate School confronts its many challenges and embarks on new initiatives.”

Dunwoody holds degrees in journalism and mass communication from Indiana and Temple Universities. Before joining the UW–Madison faculty, Dunwoody was a faculty member in the School of Journalism at Ohio State University. In addition to directing the UW–Madison School of Journalism and Mass Communication, Dunwoody has served as the head of the UW–Madison Center for Environmental Communications and Education Studies, and was chair of academic programs for the Institute for Environmental Studies. She is the author, co-author or editor of five books and has published nearly 40 scholarly papers.

“All faculty are aware of the crucial role played by the Graduate School in the scholarly health of this campus,” Dunwoody says. “It’s an honor to be asked to help sustain that role. I have boundless respect for Interim Dean Martin Cadwallader and look forward to working with him this year.”