June 10, 2009

MEDIA CONTACTS: Nick Massella
202-994-3087; massella@gwu.edu
Grace Hall 
202-994-5349; ghall@gwu.edu  
                                                                  
EMMY-AWARD WINNING JOURNALIST FRANK SESNO NAMED DIRECTOR OF GW'S SCHOOL OF MEDIA AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS
 
WASHINGTON - Emmy-award winning journalist Frank Sesno has been named the new director of The George Washington University School of Media and Public Affairs. Currently a professor of media and public affairs at GW, he will assume his new position in September, succeeding Lee Huebner who returns to GW's faculty.
 
"Frank Sesno's experience as a journalist, combined with his commitment to education, makes him an excellent choice to lead our School of Media and Public Affairs," said GW President Steven Knapp. "His breadth of knowledge in the fields of media and public affairs will play a key role as he maintains and expands the school's reputation as the preeminent school of communications in the nation's capital and beyond."

The school, which is part of GW's Columbian College of Arts and Sciences, combines liberal arts education with professional training-promoting a combination of theory and practice through its master's and two undergraduate degree programs.

"In today's multi-media environment, it is more important than ever that the School of Media and Public Affairs remains at the forefront in the field," said Peg Barratt, dean of GW's Columbian College of Arts and Sciences. "I look forward to working with Professor Sesno to advance the school's dynamic, interdisciplinary programs, which combine strategic communication, journalism, and political communication with contemporary issues in domestic and international politics."

Sesno is director of GW's Public Affairs Project, which produced Planet Forward-an innovative Web-to-television program hosted by Sesno and broadcast on PBS in April. His career in journalism spans more than three decades and includes 21 years at CNN, where he served as White House correspondent, anchor, and Washington bureau chief. At GW, Sesno's expertise focuses on the media's impact on public policy. In 2008, he partnered with Ambassador Karl Inderfurth at the Elliott School of International Affairs to bring five former Secretaries of State to GW to discuss the challenges facing the next American President. Sesno moderated the program along with CNN's Christiane Amanpour.

"I am thrilled to lead the School of Media and Public Affairs at this particularly relevant time when students must be prepared to excel in the rapidly changing news and media environment," said Sesno. "These new changes are reshaping the practice of journalism, the way we communicate, and the way governments and citizens use media to connect. As a faculty member, I feel a strong sense of pride and enthusiasm for the school to meet these challenges, and I look forward to creating opportunities that will develop and grow the school with faculty, students and staff."

As a journalist, Sesno has interviewed numerous business and government leaders and has anchored superpower summits and produced major documentaries. Before joining CNN in 1984, he 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. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Middlebury College.

"Frank Sesno is the ideal person to lead the School of Media and Public Affairs," said Don Lehman, GW executive vice president for academic affairs. "I am confident he will advance the school's already well recognized academic excellence and ensure that it remains at the cutting edge of this important field."

With more than 40 departments and programs, GW's Columbian College of Arts and Sciences is the largest of the University's academic units. It provides education and training leading to undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees-including those awarded by the School of Media and Public Affairs. The Columbian College's internationally recognized faculty draw upon the resources and diversity of Washington, D.C. Students are offered opportunities to pursue their intellectual development and research training in programs ranging from the traditional disciplines through a wide variety of interdisciplinary and applied fields.

For more information about GW's School of Media and Public Affairs, visit www.smpa.gwu.edu.

For more information about GW's Columbian College of Arts and Sciences, visit www.gwu.edu/~ccas.

For more news about The George Washington University, visit www.gwnewscenter.org.

- GW -