Mary Glick has been named the new chair of Cal Poly’s journalism department, the university announced in a press release yesterday. She replaces current interim chair Harvey Levenson, also the acting chair of graphic communication, who’s been in the position for two years.
“I can’t be more pleased,” Glick said. “I feel like I’m joining a great group of people and a great institution that’s aligned itself with journalism excellence.”
Professionally, Glick brings a lot to the position. Most recently, she had been the associate director of the American Press Institute in Reston, Va. for 11 years. Prior to that, she was the features editor for the Star-News in Pasadena, Calif., a copy editor for The Daily Report in Ontario, Calif. and a city hall and education reporter, business editor and lifestyles editor for the Daily Star Progress in La Habra, Calif.
In her educational background, Glick was an associate professor of journalism at State University of New York in Oswego, and was also the founder and director of the school’s Center for Community Journalism. Before that, she taught journalism at California State University, Long Beach.
“Mary Glick’s appointment culminates a two-year search for the right person to lead the department into a new era of journalism education preparing highly qualified students for the jobs of today and of the future,” Levenson said in a release. “The department presently has a solid and highly qualified faculty and staff with journalism industry and teaching experience. It now has a leader to blend its assets into a dynamic unit for educating future journalists and to offer professional services to the profession.
“Mary Glick is considered an entrepreneurial journalist and educator with substantial experience in providing innovative direction for higher education and industry.”
Innovation is one of the few things Glick said she plans to tackle as soon as she starts her term as chair. With the landscape of journalism changing rapidly, she said the department needs to put a heavy emphasis on multimedia and move quickly toward a technological future.
“We need to be digital and interactive from day one,” Glick said. “We always need to be moving. If we’re standing still, we’re falling behind.”