Northwestern University in Qatar (NU-Q) recently welcomed Dr. D. Charles Whitney as associate dean for academic affairs. Whitney is a distinguished educator with an extensive knowledge of communication, journalism and media.
“The appointment of Dr. Whitney is testimony to strengthening our academic programs with curriculum renewal and development, our number one priority over the next academic year,” said dean and CEO of NU-Q Everette E. Dennis.
“Applying his extensive experience he will continue and expand on the good work done already as he helps assist in transforming our vision for the school into a continued plan of action.”
The new associate dean comes to NU-Q from Northwestern’s home campus in Evanston, Illinois where he was associate dean in the School of Communication. He has been making regular visits to Doha for five years assisting with faculty development, curricular issues and other concerns linking the two campuses. He also co-authored a study assessing NU-Q courses against those offered at the university’s campus in the U.S.
Reporting to Dennis, Whitney will also work closely with NU-Q’s three academic program directors, with responsibilities including the supervision of academic advising, admissions and student records. He will also be part of the Executive Group in the Office of the Dean made up of COO Kathy Symank and Associate Dean Klaus Schoenbach.
“I am excited to join NU-Q after five years at the Evanston campus. Part of my job there was to encourage Evanston faculty to come to Doha,” comments Whitney. “So, I’ve taken my own advice – to work with wonderful faculty and great students and toward a mission I believe in – quality higher education in a critically important part of the world.”
Whitney’s extensive experience with undergraduate and graduate students will help steer NU-Q, particularly with the school’s ambitions towards graduate programs. He is a former department chair, director of graduate studies and associate dean at several prestigious American universities. This experience sits alongside his background in research projects and media, including work as a reporter, news editor and broadcast editor.
Whitney began his teaching career at Stanford University’s Department of Communication and subsequently held appointments at Ohio State, the University of Illinois, the University of Texas and the University of California Riverside, before joining the leadership ranks at Evanston. As a published author, his work includes a co-authored book, Media Making: Mass Media in a Popular Culture, the co-edited Audiencemaking: How the Media Create an Audience, as well as many journal articles, book chapters and monographs.
