Accrediting Committee

The members of the Accrediting Committee meet once a year to review the reports of on-site observations submitted by site visit teams. The Committee examines the reports thoroughly and makes recommendations for accrediting actions. The recommendations are forwarded to the Accrediting Council, which makes all final accrediting decisions.

The Accrediting Committee has 15 members. The Accrediting Council President serves as an ex-officio voting member of the Committee.

Marie Hardin, Chair, Accrediting Committee
Dean
Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications
Pennsylvania State University
201 Carnegie Building
University Park, PA 16802
(814)863-1484
mch208@psu.edu
(Term expires 2024)

Rafael Lorente, Vice Chair, Accrediting Committee
Associate Dean for Academic Affairs
Master’s Program Director
Philip Merrill College of Journalism
University of Maryland
Office: (301)405-1084
Mobile: (202)841-2375
rlorente@umd.edu
(Term expires 2024)

Andrew Alexander
Visiting Professional
Scripps College of Communication
Ohio University
54 Pophams Ford Road
Sperryville, Va. 22740
(202)368-7986
andyalexander1@me.com
(Term expires 2025)

Cristina L. Azocar
Professor
Department of Journalism
San Francisco State University
1600 Holloway Ave.
San Francisco, CA 94132-1722
(415)338-3134
cazocar@sfsu.edu
(Term expires: 2024) 

Michael Cherenson
Executive Vice President
Public Relations
SCG Advertising & Public Relations
100 S. Jefferson Road, Suite 204
Whippany, NJ 07981
(973)597-5104
 Mobile: (973)919-6228
mcherenson@successcomgroup.com
(Term expires 2024)

George L. Daniels
Associate Professor
College of Information and Communication Sciences
The University of Alabama
Box 870172
Tuscaloosa, AL 35487-0172
(205)348-8618
gdaniels@ua.edu
(Term expires 2025) 

Kenn Gaither
Interim Dean
School of Communications
Elon University
2850 Campus Box
Elon, NC 27244
(336)278-5724
communications@elon.edu

Jackie Jones
Dean
School of Global Journalism & Communication
Morgan State University
1700 E. Cold Spring Lane,
Baltimore, MD 21251
Office: (443)885-3502
Mobile: (202) 271-6890
jacqueline.jones@morgan.edu
(Term expires 2024)

Helen Katz
Executive Vice President, Research
Publicis Media
35 W. Wacker Drive
Chicago, IL 60601
(312)220-6706
helen.katz@publicismedia.com
(Term expires 2023) 

Gracie Lawson-Borders
Dean and Professor
Cathy Hughes School of Communications
Howard University
300 Bryant St. NW
Washington DC
(202)806-7694
gracie.lawsonborders@howard.edu
(Term expires 2025)

Diana Martinelli
Dean
Reed College of Media
West Virginia University
511 University Ave.,
Morgantown, WV 26506-6010
(304)293-8681
diana.martinelli@mail.wvu.edu
(Term expires 2023)

Diane McFarlin
Dean Emeritus
College of Journalism and Communications
University of Florida
dmcfarlin@ufl.edu
(Term expires 2024)

Al Stavitsky
Dean
Donald W. Reynolds School of Journalism
and Center for Advanced Media Studies
University of Nevada, Reno
MS 310
1664 N. Virginia St.
Reno, NV 89557-0310
(775)784-6531
ags@unr.edu
(Term expires 2023)

Joseph Tateoka
Senior Vice President, Global Learning & Development
Edelman
111 N. Canal St., Ste. 1100
Chicago, IL 60606
(312)523-4096
Joseph.Tateoka@edelman.com
(Term Expires 2024)