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February 6, 2022

Dear Wolf Pack Family,

I hope this email finds you well during this increasingly busy time of the semester.

It is with sincere gratitude and with a sense that there are often people who seem irreplaceable simply because of who they are and the excellence that they represent, that I announce today that Al Stavitsky will be stepping down as dean of the Donald W. Reynolds School of Journalism this year. He will remain in place until a national search is launched this spring and a new dean is named. He will then join the school’s faculty as a professor. In his new role, he will be able to spend more time in the classroom and to devote more time to his research on the origins of Nevada broadcasting, as part of a Library of Congress task force on the preservation of broadcast history.

It is no exaggeration to say that the 11-year tenure of “Dean Al,” as he is affectionately known by so many, has been one of record-setting achievement. It has been, as well, a leadership tenure that has reminded us all that the important work of the Reynolds School is central to our mission as a University. The Reynolds School proudly, thanks in no small part to Dean Al’s work and vision for what it needs to be, remains one of the most important contributors we will ever have in maintaining a fully functioning democracy.

Since becoming dean of the Reynolds School in April 2012, Dean Al has championed the school to play a large role in the future of northern Nevada, our state, our country and the world. He came to our campus as the entire media landscape was shifting dramatically. He saw this not as something that was intractable but as an exciting opportunity. He has skillfully and with great vision built a faculty and staff whose cutting-edge curriculum reflects in every way what schools of journalism must do to meet new challenges and needs in this dynamic time. We have today one of the – if not the – most innovative and diverse journalism programs in the entire country.

The voices, stories, perspectives, innovations and experiences that the students of the school are learning to share in a broad range of fields – taught and mentored by a faculty that reflects the composition and achievements of our state and our nation — are already transforming the marketplace of ideas and strengthening our society. The Reynolds School has long had a proud tradition of professional excellence, as evidenced by its six Pulitzer Prize winners and a long line of leaders in advertising, public relations, broadcasting, film and a wide range of other fields. Dean Al has ushered the school through its most sustained era of excellence, with the school having won multiple awards including the Online News Association’s Grand Prize for Innovation in Journalism Education and the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication’s Equity and Diversity Award, just to name a few. Last fall, Dean Al was honored with induction into the Nevada Broadcasters Association Hall of Fame.

Beyond all of this, though, are the personal traits and professional experiences that make Dean Al such an effective leader. He is a born communicator, a person who listens intently and can share just the right personal observation at just the right moment. One of Dean Al’s greatest gifts is his ability to know all students by name, the fact that his “open door” policy to his Dean’s Office is truly that, and that he makes everyone he comes into contact with feel seen and heard. He has always led with his heart, knowing that the people of his school – students, faculty, staff, friends and alumni – have always done the same.

There will be time in the coming months to more appropriately celebrate what Dean Al Stavitsky has done for his school and for the University. For a little more than 100 years now, journalism education has flourished on our campus. Dean Al has made sure that the school’s future is bright, and that its days of continuing to excel will be many.

Thank you, Dean Al, for all that you have done.

Go Pack!

Sincere regards,

Brian Sandoval
President