David Kurpius, dean of Missouri School of Journalism, named Administrator of the Year
COLUMBIA, Mo. (June 27, 2023) — David Kurpius, dean of the Missouri School of Journalism, has won the prestigious Scripps Howard-AEJMC Administrator of the Year Award, which recognizes a single journalism and communication administrator nationwide who has demonstrated excellent leadership.
“I’m honored and humbled by this recognition,” Kurpius said. “None of the things we have accomplished in these eight years would have been possible without the hard work of our world-class faculty and staff and the alumni, friends and industry leaders who continue to support our mission.”
Kurpius joined the School in 2015, pairing a focus on strategic innovation and growth with the School’s famed Missouri Method of hands-on learning. During his time as dean, the School has raised more than $80 million to fund faculty fellowships and student scholarships, expand local journalism, and innovate in the realm of strategic communication, among other initiatives.
At the same time, he has significantly increased the representation of diverse faculty and staff while investing in training to help everyone at the School broaden perspectives and address biases. These efforts and more led to the School earning the AEJMC Equity and Diversity Award in 2021.
But before these accomplishments, Kurpius made an impression when he met individually with every faculty and staff member at the School upon his arrival, an early indication of his commitment to developing strong partnerships with people at every level of the School.
I’m honored and humbled by this recognition. None of the things we have accomplished in these eight years would have been possible without the hard work of our world-class faculty and staff and the alumni, friends and industry leaders who continue to support our mission.
David Kurpius
“[Kurpius] has invested time, energy and focus on developing leadership among the faculty and staff, seeking out and giving opportunities to lead to those interested in taking on responsibility and initiative to move the School forward,” said Mike Jenner, the Houston Harte Chair in Journalism, in nominating Kurpius for the award. “Through training, public recognition and personal contact, he has developed a leadership team ready to share in facing the challenges of an evolving media industry and an evolving academic environment.”
In addition, Kurpius has strived to ensure that the world’s first journalism school remains ahead of the curve when it comes to preparing students for the future of a rapidly changing industry. In collaboration with faculty, his tenure has seen an overhaul of the School’s curriculum complete with new career-path classes, which are designed to serve the latest needs of news outlets and strategic communication organizations.
He also oversaw the creation of the One Newsroom, a space where students and leadership from each of the School’s five professional news outlets come together to plan coverage and facilitate cross-platform training.
“Dean Kurpius is relentlessly focused on ensuring that the students educated by the School leave it prepared to meet the industry in its present reality while helping to lead it into the future,” Jenner added. “He has done this by pushing the faculty to not be complacent with the success of the Missouri Method — the gold standard of experiential journalism education — but to push students and themselves instead to develop new techniques, new products and new approaches to better serve audiences and students.”
Kurpius earned a bachelor’s degree in telecommunications from Indiana University’s Media School and master’s and doctoral degrees in journalism and mass communication from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He began his career as a local television reporter and served as a professor and administrator at Louisiana State University for nearly 20 years. His research on building newsrooms that focus on civic responsibility, diversity and inclusion has appeared in more than 20 peer-reviewed journals and books.
Updated: June 27, 2023