Charles Whitaker

Notable work and positions

Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications, Northwestern University - Dean (since 2019)
Ebony magazine - former Senior Editor
Miami Herald and the Louisville Times - former reporter

Biography

Charles Whitaker is dean of Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications, effective July 2019, and the first Medill alumnus to serve as dean. He joined the Medill faculty in 1992 and previously held the Helen Gurley Brown Professorship and served as associate dean of journalism. Before academia, Whitaker was a senior editor at Ebony magazine, covering cultural, social and political events on four continents, and began his journalism career as a reporter at the Miami Herald and later the Louisville Times. He directed Medill's Academy for Alternative Journalism for nine years and co-directed Project Masthead, both aimed at increasing diversity in the magazine and newsroom workforce, and is co-author of the textbook Magazine Writing and co-editor of Curating Culture. He serves on the boards of the American Society of Magazine Editors, ProPublica, the Prison Journalism Project and Block Club Chicago.