September 2006
GW’s School of Media and Public Affairs Welcomes
Lee Huebner as New Director, Frank Sesno as Faculty
Lee Luebner assumed leadership of GW's School of Media and Public Affairs in July. Journalist Frank Sesno joins GW as professor of media and public affairs in September. |
The University’s School
of Media and Public
Affairs gained two
internationally renowned
experts this summer with the
appointments of Lee W.
Huebner as the school’s new
director and Emmy Award winning
journalist Frank
Sesno as its newest faculty
member. Huebner assumed
his duties as director on July
1, while Sesno will join the
school as professor of media
and public affairs on Sept. 1.
“The results of this search
represent our commitment
to become the preeminent
school of communications
in the nation’s capital,” said
GW President Stephen Joel
Trachtenberg. “In Lee
Huebner, we gain a director
with a wealth of talent and
experience in print journalism,
political research, and higher
education. Frank Sesno is
the consummate broadcast
journalist—an award-winning
network correspondent,
anchor, and bureau chief
who also has honed his skills
in the classroom.
“These two fine professionals
add even greater
depth to the talent already
in place in the School of
Media and Public Affairs,” said Trachtenberg, thanking
Professor Steven Livingston
for guiding the school
through the interim period
and Professor Steven Roberts
for leading the successful
search.
Huebner comes to GW
most recently from Northwestern
University, where
he served as a professor
of communication studies
and journalism in both the
School of Communications
and the Medill School of
Journalism. He also served for
14 years as publisher and CEO
of the Paris-based International
Herald Tribune, the
world’s first global newspaper
and was a co-founder and
president of the Ripon
Society, a political research
organization.
During the Nixon administration,
Huebner worked
as a special assistant to the
president of the United
States and deputy director
of the White House writing
and research staff. A former
president of the American
University of Paris and of
the American Chamber of
Commerce in France, he has
served on newspaper boards
in Hong Kong and Kenya
and chairs the Center for
the Study of International
Communication in Paris. A
native of Sheboygan, Wisc.,
Huebner was an undergraduate
at Northwestern University
and received his M.A.
and Ph.D. degrees in history
from Harvard University.
“This is a great honor
and a great opportunity,” says
Huebner, who has published
in a variety of fields and is
currently completing a book
on globalization and the
media. “I look forward to
working with a wonderful
team of accomplished professionals
in building an even
stronger program in journalism
and political communication.”
Sesno, most recently a
professor of public policy and
communication at George
Mason University, is an
internationally respected
journalist with more than 25
years of experience, including
18 years at CNN as a special
correspondent. His last
program titled, “We Were
Warned: Tomorrow’s Oil
Crisis,” aired on CNN this
past spring.
Prior to working as
special correspondent, Sesno
served as White House
correspondent, anchor, and
Washington bureau chief.
He teaches how the media
affect the creation of public
policy and is a host and
producer of in-depth specials
and mini-series on PBS and
the History Channel.
As a journalist, Sesno
has interviewed business and
government leaders including
U.S. Presidents George W.
Bush, Bill Clinton, George
H.W. Bush, and Ronald
Reagan; Palestinian leader
Yasser Arafat; Egyptian
President Hosni Mubarak;
and Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu. He
covered stories ranging from
the Iraq War, the disputed
U.S. presidential election
of 2000, and the historic
series of superpower summits
during the 1980s.
Before joining CNN in
1984, Sesno worked as a
radio correspondent at the
White House and in London
for the Associated Press. He
has won several prestigious
journalistic awards, including
an Emmy, several cable ACE
awards, and an Overseas
Press Club Award, and is a
member of the Council on
Foreign Relations. Sesno
holds a bachelor’s degree
from Middlebury College.
“GW is a unique and
exciting place,” said Sesno. “I look forward to working
with new colleagues and
students, and to the
contributions we can make
at a defining time for
journalism and global affairs.”
Send feedback to: bygeorge@gwu.edu
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