College History
From very humble beginnings over 80 years ago, the College of Journalism and Communications is now one of the country's premier journalism and communications programs.
In 1925, in a dimly lighted basement of Language Hall (now known as Anderson Hall) the first Department of Journalism was born. Orland K. "O.K." Armstrong served as the first head. Three years later, the first three students received journalism degrees.
Since then, more than 20,000 students have received journalism and communications degrees.
The journalism department moved into Buckman Hall, a refurbished dormitory, in 1937. Again, the space presented challenges as the new offices included a converted bathroom, complete with existing plumbing. The talk on campus was that "those damn journalists have been put where they belong," according to an article by former Dean John Paul Jones Jr.
Rae O. Weimer, known as the college's founding father, arrived in 1949 and raised the department to School status. A former managing editor of New York's PM newspaper, Weimer came to Florida at the urging of Florida daily newspaper publishers. In 1950, the journalism program was accredited-no easy feat for a program that a year earlier had one classroom, no equipment and only two teachers. By late 1953, the broadcasting curriculum was transferred to journalism and the School's title became the School of Journalism and Communications. Although Weimer never finished college, he and John Paul Jones Jr. laid the groundwork for the tremendously successful academic programs of today.
By the 1960s, UF's School of Journalism and Communications became the fastest-growing journalism program in the United States and the fastest-growing unit at UF. The growth was directly related to its national prominence as the college began dominating the annual Hearst Foundation's national collegiate writing competition.
In 1967, the School of Journalism and Communications became a college, with Weimer as its first dean. John Paul Jones Jr. followed as dean from 1968 - 76 and oversaw major enrollment growth and the organization of the college into departments of advertising, broadcasting, journalism and public relations.
Ralph L. Lowenstein, dean from 1976 - 94, supervised the construction of Weimer Hall and its dedication in 1981 as well as the Flanagan Wing addition in 1990. During Lowenstein's tenure, the college's academic programs received top-ten national rankings, and the college enjoyed success in recruiting a diverse faculty and student population. In addition, Lowenstein raised an impressive $18.1 million in commitments to the college during the "Embrace Excellence" capital campaign.
Dean Terry Hynes succeeded Lowenstein from 1994-2006. She continued the college's long-time commitment to combine theoretical/conceptual classroom instruction with opportunities for practical application and to maintain the college's cutting edge in the use of new journalism and communication technologies.
The Campaign for the University of Florida