Professor Newton, an award-winning scholar, editor, photographer and teacher, fills the space left by Al Stavitsky, who will be based in Portland as Director of the school's George S. Turnbull Center.  

"Julie is a highly respected scholar and colleague with a strong record of engaged service to the school," SOJC Dean Tim Gleason says. "She has been instrumental in moving the curriculum review process forward during the past two years.  I am delighted that she is willing to take on the challenging  role of associate dean at a critical time in the school's history."

Newton is author of The Burden of Visual Truth: The Role of Photojournalism in Mediating Reality and co-author of Visual Communication: Integrating Media, Art and Science. Her visual ethics publications span scholarly, professional and public forums, and her documentary photographs have been shown in more than 50 exhibitions in three countries. She has worked as a reporter, editor, photographer and designer for newspapers, magazines and electronic media. Newton’s honors include the National Communication Association Visual Communication Research Excellence Award, Marshall Award for Teaching Innovation, National Press Photographers Association Garland Educator of the Year Award, and the AEJMC Distinguished Contributions to Visual Communication Award.

She was editor of Visual Communication Quarterly from 2001-2006 and serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Mass Media Ethics, EME (Explorations in Media Ecology), and VCQ. She joined the University of Oregon faculty in fall 2000 after 15 years at UT Austin.

Newton's appointment is for one year, with the possibility of extending to a renewable three-year term. 

Q/A with the new Associate Dean:

What interested you in the associate dean position?
The opportunity to serve the school at a pivotal time for both journalism and higher education

What's your first order of business?
To make sure classes are ready to go for fall and winter terms!

What long-term goals do you hope to accomplish?
To facilitate curriculum innovation by building on the hallmarks of UO's journalism and communication traditions

What challenges will you face?
Planning and implementing curriculum reform, meeting the needs of a burgeoning undergraduate population, and enhancing the relationship of undergraduate and graduate education in SOJC.

What do you think are the strengths of the SOJC?  How as associate dean can you capitalize on those?
With its superb faculty, staff, students, alumni and community supporters, SOJC is poised to meet the challenges of one of the most tumultuous periods in the history of journalism and higher education.  SOJC's strengths draw deeply from a passionate commitment to free expression and to the immeasurable role of quality journalism and communication in fostering an informed and free society. Increasingly, SOJC engages an international community of scholars, professionals, educators and citizens to buttress its commitment to free expression on a global scale.  As associate dean for undergraduate studies, my mission is to support SOJC's contributions to Oregon, U.S. and international communities through our commitment to excellent undergraduate preparation in critical investigation and creative exploration of issues, solid writing and editing, and multisensory communication across diverse media platforms.  Our graduates not only must be fluent in the multiple ways today’s citizens receive and disseminate information but they also must be prepared to find solutions to the social and cultural challenges of our time and to dream and implement media of the future.