Dean Susan King
Susan King was dean of the School of Media and Journalism at UNC-Chapel Hill from 2012 to 2022.
King received her bachelor’s degree from Marymount College, Tarrytown in New York, and her master’s degree in communications from Fairfield University in Fairfield, Connecticut. She also studied at University College of London University.
After graduating from Fairfield University, she was hired by NBC News. She later moved to CBS where she served as New York assistant to the national editor and as a correspondent for anchor Walter Cronkite. After her stint in New York City, she moved to Buffalo, New York, in 1972. She was hired as a broadcast journalist for WGR-TV, Channel 2. When she started working at WGR-TV, she only anchored weekend newscasts. Soon, she was promoted to weekday newscasts, paving the way for more female anchors in Buffalo.
In 1975, King moved to Washington, D.C., where she covered politics and worked as an ABC News White House correspondent. She spent over 20 years in Washington, D.C. During this time, she also reported for CBS, CNN and NBC. She hosted the “Diane Rehm Show” and “Talk of the Nation” for NPR.
In 1995, she left broadcast journalism and served as the assistant secretary for public affairs in the U.S. Department of Labor and as the executive director of the Family and Medical Leave Commission; she held these positions for about five years.
In August 1999, King became the vice president for external affairs at the Carnegie Corporation of New York. While working there, she started the Carnegie-Knight Initiative on the Future of Journalism Education. She collaborated with the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, as well as 12 U.S. journalism schools, for this project. She left this role in December 2011 to accept her position as the dean of the School of Media and Journalism at UNC-CH.
Why she’s notable:
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King was the first female weekday news anchor in the Buffalo news market.
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She is a founder of the International Women's Media Foundation and a member of its Advisory Council.
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She has won numerous journalism awards including Emmys for her reporting from Lebanon.
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She started and led the Carnegie-Knight Initiative on the Future of Journalism Education.
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