Centennial Profiles celebrates the history of the University of Iowa School of Journalism and Mass Communication (UI SJMC) by examining the achievements of exemplary Ph.D. graduates and faculty, some of whom are also featured in the School’s Hall of Fame.

Initiating its significant professional contributions, Wilbur Schramm, the School’s Director, designed the first doctoral program in mass communication in 1943. In the ensuing 80 years, Schramm’s curricular innovation facilitated diverse leadership in all facets of academia and beyond. 

The first Ph.D.s from the UI School of Journalism graduated in 1948; Donald D. Jackson and Charles Edmund Swanson became professors, media scholars, and authors. By 2022, UI SJMC graduated 335 Ph.D.s. Many achieved leadership reputations worldwide in journalism and mass communication scholarship, higher education, industry, and government. Besides Iowans, UI SJMC doctoral graduates represent five continents: Africa, Asia, Europe, Central and South America, and North America.

Centennial Profiles strives to motivate student achievement and establish an additional sense of community among graduate students and alumni by enriching the understanding of the SJMC’s intellectual and professional reach and many-faceted legacies.

Written by current and former UI SJMC graduates, faculty, and students, the profiles vary in length and depth. While some provide short introductions, others contain original reporting on achievements and contributions that UI SJMC Ph.Ds. and faculty engendered. Some longer profiles contextualize aspects of a person’s research. A few profiles provide a forum for a distinguished scholar to self-evaluate his/her intellectual contributions or address challenges in mass communication practice, scholarship, or higher education. 

Centennial Profiles follow in the footsteps of Max McElwain’s Profiles in Communication, which extensively portrays the accomplishments of many SJMC Ph.D. graduates, among others, who by 1991were inducted into the University of Iowa School of Journalism and Mass Communication Hall of Fame. 

Profiles of outstanding SJMC Ph.D. graduates will be added throughout 2024. The project’s editors anticipate future profiles will describe the accomplishments of new generations of UI SJMC Ph.Ds.  

Rob Logan, Dan Berkowitz, Peter Gross, Centennial Profiles Editors

Ways to Support SJMC

The School of Journalism and Mass Communication will celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2024. In honor of this milestone, the School is hosting an anniversary dinner on April 13, 2024. To register for the event or to donate seats/tables for students, faculty, and staff, visit the UI Center for Advancement's online registration page.

Consider making an anniversary gift to support the great work going on in the School.

Support SJMC through a gift of any amount by donating online or submitting a gift/pledge form.

Gifts support student scholarships, internships, study aboard, student trips and professional experiences and faculty research, creative activity and professional development.