If the disciplines want to speak to each other, or if they want to reach a wider audience, they have to speak the popular language. That means they either speak through journalists or become journalists themselves. Dean Konner has been carrying that message to the University, to journalism educators, to the professional community and to the public since her appointment eight and a half years ago. She will step down as dean Jan. 1 and continue as a professor and as publisher of the Columbia Journalism Review .
Mass communication defines the culture, and journalism is more important than ever.
Other popular languages, like advertising and public relations, are used for political or commercial persuasion. Journalism is the popular language used in pursuit of truth. In her tenure, the dean has focused her efforts on faculty, funding and the future. Underlying her efforts has been a commitment to the core values of the school - reporting, writing and continuing education as the basis of all good journalism in all media. She has also reinforced the school's commitment to First Amendment rights and responsibilities, exemplified dramatically when she brought Salman Rushdie to campus in 1992 for his first public appearance in this country since the threat on his life.