8 The Tar Heel Thursday, July 6, 1978
Adams resigns as J-School dean
By Patty Grebe
Assistant Editor
John B. Adams has been the "big daddy"
of the journalism school for nine years,
but he is ready to let someone else do the
paperwork required of deans.
Adams announced his resignation as
dean of the journalism school in June. He
will continue his duties as dean until
Chancellor Ferebee Taylor's search
committee selects his replacement,
probably in the fall.
"I've been in it for nine years," Adams
said. "The school is in good shape. We
were the first (journalism school) to be
accredited as a school in the country. Our
accreditation report was very favorable.
There are no problems. It's just that nine
years is long enpugh for me."
Adams, who will return to full-time
teaching, said he is looking forward to
having more contact with students and
more time to do research and publish in
his field.
"I assume I'll be teaching some of the
same things I've been teaching
newswriting, journalism law,
management, whatever the new dean
assigns. 1 can't write my own job
description," Adams said.
Teaching is what Adams really enjoys.
"Let's face it, the really rewarding part
of an academic career is contact with
the students. That's what it's all about,"
Adams said.
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The highlight of his years as dean,
Adams said, is "the reassurance (from
accreditation) that things have been going
in the right direction."
The accreditation of the entire school
by the American Council on Education for
Journalism was a change from past policy
in which only individual programs, such
as advertising or news and editorial
writing were accredited. From now on, all
journalism schools will have to be
accreditated as a whole unit.
The UNC School of Journalism was an
experimental school, volunteering to be
the first school for the new type of
accreditation. The school was scheduled
for re-accreditation this year.
"I hope the school will continue to hold
a position of some prominence in
journalism higher education in the nation
as it does now," Adams said. "I don't see
any reason why it would move in any
direction but up."
Adams said he has served the longest
time of any academic dean since ltiQ. All
other academic deans on campus have
changed since then, he said.
"All administrations these days feel the
pressures from a variety of sources. I
must say the relationship between the
school and South Building has been fine.
But increasing levels of complexity and
the increasing number of mandatory
reports all these kinds of tacky things
we don't always know the reason for
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are time-consuming, tension-producing. I
think I've done these long enough from
my own point of view.
"A considerable portion of
administrative paperwork is garbage,"
Adams said. "It's tedious and I'm not
always convinced of the need for it.
Obviously, some things must be done, but
others seem to have no useful purpose.
I'm not the only one who objects, new and
old deans do, too. It's a question of coping
with it. I got tired of coping with it after
awhile."
Adams said he does not anticipate any
difficulty in not being in the "king-making
role " anymore.
"I've taught every semester since I've
been a dean. And I don't have the feeling
that students perceived me as anything
but an instructor. I don't expect any
particular change in attitude by students
or on my part.
"My ego survival doesn't depend on
having a title. I look upon myself foremost
as a teacher anyway. I hope in fact to have
a bigger off ice," Adams said, laughing. His
present office is one-third the size it was
when he became dean. He gave up parts of
it as the secretarial staff needed them.
"We needed to make room for the staff
and the way to do it was to cut room for
the dean. I'm the only dean in the history
of the university who has asked for less
space twice," Adams said, laughing and
tilting back in his chair.
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John B. Adams
The 58-year-old Adams is well known
in the journalism school for his favorite
teaching position, anchoring his leg upon
a table and leaning his lanky frame on it.
It has become his teaching trademark of
sorts which apparently had its origins in
Millville, N.J. where he was born. An old
brown photograph of a chubby, young
John B. in diapers shows him kicking his
left leg in the air, practicing for the future
maybe.
But don't ask to see the photograph,
he'll probably say it doesn't exist.
Chamberlin criticizes media
by Alma Blount
Tar Heel Contributor
The mass' media today are not doing an
adequate job of upholding First Amendment
freedoms for the American public, according to
Dr. William Chamberlin of the UNC School of
Journalism. In a speech for the Tuesday
Evening Speaker Series he said that
preoccupation with profit making has
undermined mass media ability to play a
responsive role in mass society.
Chamberlin cited conclusions by the
Commission on Freedom of the Press, that a
smaller group of men is becoming more
powerful in the mass media.
The mass media are not providing the kinds
of information our complex society needs in
order to stay stable, Chamberlin said. People
need to be informed better on issues such as
energy and the environment so they can make
positive contributions to public policy and "just
plain live their lives in the best way possible,"
Chamberlin said.
Public opinion, no matter how well or ill
informed, is likely to have an impact on public
policy. Chamberlin cited the Proposition 13
issue in California saying, because we are a
mass communications society, public opinion
can be easily created and expressed.
Chamberlin suggested that five performance
standards offered by the commission have
relevance today. The standards challenge the
mass media to:
Be accurate and provide a truthful,
comprehensive, intelligent account of the day's
events in a context that gives them meaning.
Provide a forum for the exchange of
comment and criticism.
Provide a presentation and clarification of
the goals of society.
Present a representative picture of the
constituent groups of society.
0 Provide full access to the day's intelligence.
Chamberlin proposed that we treat public
information policy as we do environmental
policy, not necessarily by imposing
governmental regulations, but by creating
forums for public discussion and debate. Hold
congressional hearings, he said, and urge the
media to examine the role they play in our
society and to address the issue of how that role
can more adequately serve our needs.
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