The Students Publishing Co. board named Medill junior Robert Samuels as The Daily’s next editor in chief Tuesday night.

Samuels, a former Daily cultural affairs reporter and assistant campus editor, is returning to the newspaper after serving as editor in chief of the quarterly BlackBoard magazine, a publication affiliated with For Members Only.

Medill junior Elizabeth Kirk, a former Daily news editor, also applied.

Samuels will take over the editor in chief position starting Spring Quarter, after he returns from his Teaching Media internship at the St. Petersburg Times in St. Petersburg, Fla. Current editor in chief Elaine Helm will continue to serve until the end of this quarter.

Medill Prof. Charles Whitaker, chairman of the SPC board, said the decision was one of the toughest the board has had in recent years.

“Both candidates brought very different skills to the table, but both were well-qualified to be editor,” Whitaker said.

Samuels’ desire to diversify the paper’s staff and coverage impressed board members, Whitaker said.

When he begins his term, Samuels said he wants to take a hard look at the paper’s coverage to make stories more reflective of the student body as a whole. He added that he sees his time away from the Daily as a benefit to the paper.

“I wouldn’t consider myself an outsider, but I think the time I took off allowed me to view the Daily as a reader and see what my frustrations are,” Samuels said. “Knowing those frustrations will help me to see what we need.”

Samuels is the first black editor in chief since Henri Cauvin held the position in 1993-94.

–Chris Kirkham