Medill Dean Ken Bode, whose clout brought big money to the school andhigh-profile speakers to the campus, announced today that he will resignhis post by the end of next school year.
Bode, who was named dean in January 1998, will remain on staff to teach andto oversee the school’s Crain Lecture Series.
“This decision in no way reflects any disagreement with the overallpolicies and priorities of the administration of Northwestern,” Bode, 61,wrote in an e-mail to Medill faculty. “In fact, I’ve enjoyed strong supportfor the initiatives we have taken at Medill.”
A national search for a replacement will begin immediately, NorthwesternProvost Lawrence Dumas said. The search committee will include faculty,staff, alumni and students, and will be formed within the next few weeks.
“Ken Bode has brought tremendous energy and imagination as dean, makingimportant contributions to both Medill and the university,” Dumas said.
“While (University) President (Henry) Bienen and I are disappointed by hisdecision, we understand it.”
Bode’s work at Medill primarily centered on the school’s broadcast program.A former host of the PBS show “Washington Week in Review,” he helped securea $20 million grant Robert R. McCormick Tribune Foundation that willlargely fund a new multimedia building for the broadcast program.
And last fall, Bode and Medill received a $1.5 million grant from the JamesL. Knight Foundation that will be used to hire a Knight Chair inJournalism. The broadcast position will be Medill’s first endowedjournalism professorship.
But his focus on the broadcast program stirred heated debate among schoolfaculty about the direction of Medill – which some say is steering awayfrom print journalism.
“Clearly he has made broadcast a priority,” Assoc. Dean Mary Ann Westontold The Daily in May.
Added Neil Chase, one of six faculty departures in the past year: “Can youpossible beef up one side without the other side being like, ‘Hey, we wantsome of that too?'”
Explaining his decision to faculty members, Bode cited bureaucratic burn-out.”I am weary of the bureaucratic tasks that go with being dean,” he wrote.
“Accreditation councils, administrative retreats and program reviews soonwill be a part of my personal history. I know the administrative regimen isinevitable, even necessary, at a complex institution like Northwestern, butit’s not for me. I have bureaucratic fatigue and feel like Yossarian.”
Bode will continue his work with the weekly Crain Lecture Series. As amoderator, Bode interviewed big names such as Ken Starr, Tom Brokaw andGov. George Ryan. He said he also will use his spare time to write andcurrently is producing CNN documentaries on Hillary Clinton, George W. Bushand Al Gore.
