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Montana J-School Dean Says He Will Resign in June
Published: August 16, 2006 10:35 AM ET
HELENA, Mont. Jerry Brown, dean of the University of Montana Journalism School in Missoula since 1999, confirmed Tuesday he plans to resign his post in June 2007.
Brown told The Associated Press he had originally intended to make a formal announcement next month, but that news of his decision had "already started leaking out."
"I felt I needed to let some of the people I work most closely with know about it, and (the news) just spread from there," he said in a telephone interview.
Brown, who turned 61 over the weekend, said he will resign as dean but stay on as a faculty member for two or three more years.
"There is nothing negative about this," Brown said of his decision. "I'm not quitting in a huff or anything like that."
Brown said he told UM President George Dennison of his plans earlier this year, but that Dennison had asked him to delay a formal announcement until the fall. Dennison was in a meeting late Tuesday evening and was not available for comment.
"I would have preferred to follow his directions," Brown said, "but it seems the news is already out."
Brown has been leading fundraising efforts for construction of the new journalism building on the Missoula campus. The building is expected to be dedicated in May, and Brown said he felt it would be the perfect time to step down and "let a new dean come in to the new building."
Between now and May, Brown said, he will continue his efforts to raise additional money for new equipment for the building.
He praised faculty at the Journalism School, who he said picked up a lot of the slack when fundraising became a priority for him.
"I couldn't ask for a better faculty," he said. "They took care of so many details while I was out trying to get funding for the building. ... This could not have been a better experience for me. I'm probably the luckiest dean in the country."
Brown, the seventh permanent dean in the school's history, came to the University of Montana in July 1999 from Auburn University where he had been a faculty member for 20 years and department head for seven.
Brown received a bachelor's degree in journalism from Auburn in 1967, a master's in creative writing from Hollins College in 1968 and doctorate in English from Vanderbilt University in 1974. He also was editor of a weekly newspaper near Roanoke, Va., from 1976-79, before joining the faculty at Auburn.
At UM, he teaches the Senior Seminar class each fall and gives guest lectures.
Last year, Dennison instructed Brown to apologize for releasing a letter from a media foundation that said it would not give money for the new journalism building until Montana attitudes about nonresident landowners improved.
Brown had given the AP a copy of the letter in which the James M. Cox Jr. Foundation snubbed a request for money to build an auditorium in the $11 million journalism building.
Brown said that incident played no role in his decision to resign as dean.
"There was no pressure _ absolutely not _ and this really is entirely positive," he said.
"I feel a lot of satisfaction, and I would like to leave on good terms before they try to run me off," he joked.
Brown said he and his wife, Libby, expect to maintain a home in Montana after he retires from teaching in a few years, and that he will likely remain active in journalism in some way.
"I like to read and write and edit AP copy," he joked. "I think I'll just read AP copy and try to find as many errors as possible."
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