Contact: Carmen Ramos Chandler,
818/677-2130 or
Maureen Rubin,
818/677-3135
carmen.chandler@csun.edu

New Chair Elected, Three Faculty Members Join
CSUN's Department of Journalism

"The Department of Journalism, like the other departments in this college and the rest of the university, is preparing to meet new opportunities and challenges. These appointments will strengthen the department's ability to serve the needs of students who are living in and seeking careers in a society that is more and more influenced by the power of the media," said Philip Handler, dean of the university's College of Arts, Media, and Communication.

The new journalism chair, Cynthia Rawitch, joined the faculty full-time in 1982, teaching such subjects as reporting, writing, editing and ethics. For 10 years, she was publisher of the student newspaper, the Daily Sundial. Her professional career includes reporting for the Associated Press and teaching at the Los Angeles Times in its Minority Editorial Training Program (METPRO) for eight years. The California Newspaper Publishers Association chose Rawitch as outstanding journalism educator in 1987. She earned her Ph.D. from UCLA and her master's degree in journalism from Northwestern University.

Rawitch replaces Tom Reilly, who served as chair for 12 years. Reilly will continue teaching as a member of the faculty.

"We are excited about the continuing growth at Northridge, and about our opportunity to help students interested in the field of journalism find their way in an increasingly complex professional environment," Rawitch said. "The department is embarking on a detailed curriculum revision, one which will incorporate new trends and applications in journalism while maintaining our traditional focus on writing, reporting, ethics and a strong liberal arts education."

Scott Berman, a former newspaper reporter and public relations executive, joins the department as an assistant professor after receiving his doctorate in 1998 from the University of Illinois. He will teach undergraduate and graduate courses in public relations and media criticism. Scott Brown, who has taught part-time in the department, joins the faculty in a one-year lectureship. He is a former staff writer for The Los Angeles Times, and a writer and editor whose work has appeared in numerous publications. He will teach magazine and reporting courses.

Northridge's Department of Journalism serves more than 425 undergraduate and 40 graduate students. In addition to 11 full-time faculty, more than a dozen experienced Los Angeles journalists contribute their expertise by teaching part-time.