J-school searching for new dean

James Gentry

The search is on for a new dean of the William Allen White School of
Journalism and Mass Communications. James K. Gentry has announced that he will return to full-time teaching and research next June.

Gentry came to KU as dean in July 1997, leaving the deanship at the University of Nevada-Reno. He quickly led the KU school through major curriculum reform to prepare graduates for new technology in the industry as well as the emerging "convergence" trend, in which media combine broadcast, print and online news operations.

In 2001, Quill, the magazine of the Society of Professional Journalists, reported that KU is "considered by many to be the model for innovative curriculum revision." During a 1999 re-accreditation review, a site visit team praised the school for "pioneering curricular efforts to prepare students for media convergence" while maintaining the school's traditional emphasis on editing, writing and reporting.

Gentry received his Ph.D. in journalism with an emphasis on management and organizational behavior from the University of Missouri in 1993.

KU appoints new director of athletic bands

James G. Hudson is the University's new director of KU marching bands and athletic bands. Hudson, who was with Southwest Texas State University in San Marcos for 11 years, hopes to boost enrollment in the KU marching band. At Southwest Texas State, Hudson increased the Bobcat marching band's enrollment from 128 in 1992 to 340 in 1998.

Hudson, a native of Bloomfield, Iowa, earned a bachelor's degree in music education from Northeast Missouri State University in 1980 and a master's degree in music education with an emphasis in conducting from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1992. In addition to working at Southwest Texas State, Hudson also was a graduate assistant in the band program at UNL, where with his help, the Marching Red appeared in the Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Fla., and the Orange Bowl in Miami.

John Lynch is KU director of bands.

Douglas county leader to direct KU programs in Topeka

Two-term Douglas County Commissioner Charles Jones, a KU graduate who also earned a master's degree in public administration from Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government, has been named as director of KU's Public Management Center in Topeka. Jones, c'79, also will serve as a member of the leadership in KU Continuing Education, and he will hold a courtesy appointment in the public administration department. U.S. News magazine ranks KU's public management administration program third among U.S. public
universities.

The public management center, begun in 1974 as an effort to provide
education for state employees, offers night and weekend courses toward a master's degree in public administration and certified public manager and executive development programs. Among the program's noted alumni are Gov. Kathleen Sebelius and former Attorney General Carla Stovall. For more on the KU Public Management Center, visit http://www.kuce.org/pmc/.

Jones earned a bachelor's degree in biology in addition to his 1988 degree from Harvard. He has 20 years of experience in public
administration at the state and local levels of government, including
serving as director of the environment division of the state Department of Health and Environment.

Orchestral activities director has worldly experience

Nicholas Uljanov, the new director of orchestral activities, brings a world of experience to the job‹literally. Uljanov, originally from Austria, received degrees from St. Petersburg Conservatory in orchestral and opera conducting. He pursued conducting studies at the Vienna High School of Music and enjoyed a successful debut at the Concertgebouw Amsterdam. He also has traveled extensively through invitations to conduct with various major European orchestras, opera houses and festivals, including the Orchestra
Philharmonique de Radio France, the Orchestra de la Suisse Romande, the Bavarian State Opera Munich, the State Opera Leipzig and the Munich Opera Festival.

Uljanov was assistant professor and conductor of the Youth Symphony Orchestra at the St. Petersburg Conservatory from 1984 to 1986. In addition to English, he speaks German, French, Russian and Italian.

Gronbeck-Tedesco is acting director for University Honors

John Gronbeck-Tedesco, associate dean of liberal arts and sciences, is serving as acting director of KU's University Honors Program. Gronbeck-Tedesco succeeds the retiring Barbara Schowen, who has served as honors program director for the past seven years in addition to teaching chemistry for 26 years at KU. A national search to fill the position permanently is under way.

Established in 1956, KU's honors program is one of the oldest in the nation. The program began with 33 high-ability students and has grown to include more than 1,500 students. Schowen became director in fall 1996. About 300 students are admitted each year.