CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Ronald E. Yates has been appointed the dean of the College of Communications at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, following approval by the U. of I. Board of Trustees at its meeting June 17 in Chicago.
Yates had served as interim dean since Aug. 21 last year, succeeding Kim B. Rotzoll, who had held the position since 1992. Over the past academic year, Yates led the college through an in-depth process of self-examination and restructuring.
Yates had been head of the department of journalism since fall 1997. During that time, the department recruited a number of prominent new faculty members, significantly raising it national reputation. On April 4, Yates was succeeded in that position by journalism professor Walt Harrington, whom Yates appointed as interim head.
Before joining the U. of I. faculty in 1997, Yates was an award-winning foreign and national correspondent for the Chicago Tribune. During his 27-year career with the paper, his work as a correspondent in Asia resulted in three Edward Scott Beck awards for international reporting. He also was nominated by the paper on several occasions for the Pulitzer Prize and won several other awards, including the Peter Lisagor Award from the Society of Professional Journalists and the Inter-American Press Association Award for coverage of Latin America.
Yates also is the author of five books, four of them non-fiction and one novel, all originating from his experience as a foreign correspondent in the Far East.