Paul Parsons, dean of the School of Communications at Elon University, recently received a nomination for president of the Association of Education for Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC).
The AEJMC is a nonprofit association of educators, students and media professionals in the fields of journalism and communications. Parsons received the AEJMC presidential nomination from a national nominations committee that chose him and Lori Bergen, dean of the College of Communication at Marquette University. AEJMC members may vote online until April 8, and election results will be announced in May.
Parsons has held various roles in the AEJMC since 1985. He was previously the president of its sister organization, the Association of Schools for Journalism and Mass Communication (ASJMC). He said he was honored to receive the nomination.
“It surprised me because you tend to think the people nominated at the presidential level are at the pinnacle of the organization, the very top,” Parsons said. “I realized that I had been around a long time, and so in a way, I’m sort of in that top group that would be considered for president. And that was a surprise for me to realize.”
If elected, Parsons will climb what he described as the “presidential ladder” — serving his first year as the vice president, the following year as president-elect and his last year as the president of AEJMC.
“As president, one thing I would look forward to is presenting the national diversity award,” Parsons said. “Only one school receives the award each year. And it recognizes a school that takes seriously and is successful in gender equity and building a faculty in racial diversity. Elon received this award previously.”
Parsons stressed how his potential presidency would not interfere with his duties as dean of the School of Communications.
“If I’m elected, then yes, I will need to devote time to this national organization and I’ll be on the road some, but I can’t let it pull me away from my first priority, which is Elon and making the communications school the best that it can be,” Parsons said.