Noted academic and public broadcasting authority has focused his research on Internet technology and international communication issues

LOS ANGELES, April 20, 2007 -- Ernest James Wilson III, a noted public broadcasting authority and scholar on international communication issues, will succeed Geoffrey Cowan as dean of the Annenberg School for Communication. His term will begin July 1, 2007.

“Dr. Wilson is a recognized authority in communications convergence and its unfolding implications for our world,” said USC Provost C.L. Max Nikias, who made the announcement on behalf of President Steven B. Sample. “He has served with distinction on the faculties of the University of Maryland, University of Michigan, and University of Pennsylvania.”

Beyond academia, Wilson has worked at senior levels with a wide array of major organizations, including the White House, Council on Foreign Relations, the World Bank, United Nations, Ford Foundation, U.S. Information Agency, Congressional Black Caucus and the Global Information Infrastructure Commission.

Wilson is the ranking senior member of the board of directors of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, having been named to the board under President Bill Clinton and re-named by President George W. Bush. In addition, he has been a pioneering author and researcher on the Internet and digital communication in developing countries.

“This is an exciting time for journalism and communication: national borders continue to erode with digital communication and our societies are experiencing accelerated diversification,” Wilson said. “There is now an important opportunity for scholarship and teaching in journalism and communication to help understand the convergence of technology, human initiatives, and institutional relations.”

“Under the leadership of Geoffrey Cowan, in the last decade the USC Annenberg School for Communication has built a tremendous reputation for insightful research and for convening engaged, enlightened social discourse, and I look forward to working with the faculty, students, alumni and staff to strengthen the school even further. I am very grateful to President Sample and Provost Nikias for naming me to this position.”

Wilson holds a Ph.D. and M.A. in political science from the University of California, Berkeley and a B.A. from Harvard College. He is married to Francille Rusan Wilson, a labor and intellectual historian. They have two sons.

Located in Los Angeles at the University of Southern California, the USC Annenberg School for Communication is among the nation’s leading institutions devoted to the study of journalism and communication, and their impact on politics, culture and society. With an enrollment of more than 1,900 students pursuing bachelors, masters and doctoral degrees, USC Annenberg offers programs in journalism, communication, public diplomacy and public relations.