06/09/2025 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 06/09/2025 19:33
A longtime member of the Columbia community, Dean McBride has served in various academic and leadership roles since joining the college in 2005. A professor of journalism, she previously served as chair of the former Communication Department and dean of the former School of Graduate Studies.
Like many Columbia faculty members, she remains active in the field in which she teaches, bringing real-world expertise and networking opportunities to our students as they start their creative careers on campus. She's worked as an editor at the Chicago Sun-Times since 2016.
A nationally recognized expert in community news and investigative reporting, she was a Fulbright Scholar in Ireland, where she conducted research about online journalism and taught at the Dublin Institute of Technology. She has lectured around the world and worked with the U.S. Department of State on international media initiatives in Thailand and Fiji. She's launched two local news sites that have showcased the work of hundreds of Columbia students.
Dean McBride began her career in public service as a legislative aide in Washington, D.C. Before joining Columbia, she was a top editor at The Indianapolis Star and served in a number of roles at other news outlets, including WTHR-13, the NBC affiliate in Indianapolis; The Terre Haute Tribune-Star; and The Journal Gazette in Fort Wayne. Since McBride has joined Columbia, she has continued to work as a journalist. In 2007, McBride, with another colleague, launched local news website ChicagoTalks, with a grant from J-Lab. ChicagoTalks has published hundreds of undergraduate and graduate student's stories.
Dean McBride's appointment will continue until a permanent provost is named.