PHILADELPHIA, PA – David Boardman, dean of Klein College of Media and Communication at Temple University, has been chosen as Administrator of the Year in the 2022 Scripps Howard Awards, the Scripps Howard Foundation announced today.

A panel composed primarily of journalism and communication educators from across the country selected the winner of the award, which is given in collaboration with the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC). The award recognizes a single administrator annually for excellence in leadership of journalism and communication programs.

“This honor belongs to everyone at Klein College,” said Boardman. “It is recognition of all of the great things our faculty, staff, students and alumni have accomplished together over these years.”

Boardman joined the college as dean in September 2013. Under his leadership, Klein College – named for broadcast pioneer and philanthropist Lew Klein in 2018 – has ascended to recognition as one of the nation’s most innovative communication programs. He has expanded the size of the full-time faculty by more than one-third, adding both world-class researchers and internationally renowned practitioners, and has increased both research-grant and philanthropic fundraising dramatically. 

In 2018, the college was awarded AEJMC’s Equity and Diversity Award in recognition of the centrality of diversity, equity and inclusion in its curriculum, programming and recruitment of faculty and students. This year, Temple University Television, which operates under the auspices of Klein College, was named the nation’s top college television station by its peers in the Collegiate Broadcasting System. 

The college recently created two new academic centers:

• The Claire Smith Center for Sports Media, named for and co-directed by the first woman sportswriter honored by the National Baseball Hall of Fame. The center prepares students to work across platforms in the fast-changing world of sports media, and has a focus on breaking down barriers of race and gender in the field.
• The Logan Center for Urban Investigative Reporting, to be launched this summer by journalist and educator Yvonne Latty and Miami Herald investigative reporter Julie K. Brown. This center will give students grounding in using investigative skills to help seek solutions to problems plaguing large American cities such as Philadelphia. 

Last month, Temple University announced plans for a new physical home for Klein College, a state-of-the-art facility to be built on North Broad Street. Boardman has already raised millions of dollars toward the building’s construction.

“David Boardman is a transformative leader who in nine short years has admirably propelled Temple University’s Klein College of Media and Communication to new heights,” said Klein College alumnus Steve Capus, former president of NBC News and a member of the college’s Board of Visitors. “With a distinctive, gracious manner, David is a highly respected presence within Temple University communities and in newsrooms around the world. We are fortunate to have him at the helm and appreciate Scripps Howard for acknowledging his world-class talents.”

Before joining Temple University, Boardman was executive editor of The Seattle Times, which won four Pulitzer Prizes and had 10 Pulitzer finalists under his leadership. He served as president of the American Society of Newspaper Editors (now the News Leaders Association), of Investigative Reporters and Editors, and of the Accrediting Council for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication. As a journalist, he won many major national awards, including the National Ethics Award from the Society of Professional Journalists, the Goldsmith Prize in Investigative Reporting from Harvard University, the Worth Bingham Prize in Investigative Reporting, the Investigative Reporters and Editors Award and the Associated Press Managing Editors Public Service Award.

As dean, he has continued to be a leader in the journalism profession, serving as founding chair of The Lenfest Institute for Journalism, which owns The Philadelphia Inquirer, and as chair of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and of The Markup, a technology-focused news site.

“What David brings to Klein College and to Temple University is strategic vision and a deep awareness of the needs of today's students, both in the classroom and through experiential learning,” said Temple Provost Gregory Mandel. “His focus on continuous improvement and his passion for truthful, impactful journalism set the standard for his students to become active citizens as well as accomplished professionals. In his years as dean, David has reinvigorated Klein College through his emphasis on social impact and community involvement and used his outstanding fundraising abilities to support these efforts.”