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Stanley T. Wearden, Ph.D., dean of the College of Communication and Information at 5X����, has announced the appointment of Jeffrey W. Fruit, professor of journalism and mass communication, as interim director of the School of Library and Information Science.
 
“Jeff has extensive administrative experience after 10 years of excellent service as the director of the School of Journalism and Mass Communication,” Wearden says in his announcement. “I am confident he will serve the school very well as we search for a continuing director.”

Wearden says the university will post the search for a new director for the School of Library and Information Science later this month.
 
Fruit, of East Palestine, Ohio, served as director of the School of Journalism and Mass Communication from 2002-2012, during which undergraduate and graduate enrollment increased significantly, two innovative online master’s programs were launched (public relations and scholastic journalism), the school moved into a state-of-the-art 80,000-square-foot facility following a $21.5 million renovation and the school’s funds in the university foundation quadrupled.
 
Fruit’s research interests focus on the historic and current impact of technology on journalism, journalists and the broader media marketplace. He is co-author of The Training and Hiring of Journalists (Ablex, 1985) with Lee B. Becker and Susan L. Caudill. He holds a master’s degree in journalism from the Ohio State University, where he also has passed general examinations toward an interdisciplinary Ph.D. He earned a bachelor’s degree, cum laude, in journalism and history from Ohio Wesleyan University.
 
Fruit replaces Tomas A. Lipinski, J.D., L.L.M., Ph.D., who will join the faculty at the School of Library and Information Science to explore options for new curricular programs and continue his research and teaching in copyright, information law, intellectual property and other areas where he has established an international reputation.
 
For more information about the School of Library and Information Science, visit www.kent.edu/slis.