Belmont University has hired Sybril M. Bennett, Ph. D., as executive director to lead the university’s restructured New Century Journalism program. Belmont is revamping its journalism program to meet the multi-faceted needs of media in the digital era.
Bennett, who holds a Ph.D. in higher education from Vanderbilt University, and comes to Belmont from The News Channel 5 Network in Nashville, where she served as reporter, is the perfect choice to lead the New Century Journalism program, says Thom Storey, associate dean of the School of Social Sciences and chairman of the Department of Media Studies. “Dr. Bennett has the perfect blend of experience, in real-world journalism and in higher education, to help lead Belmont’s program.”
Bennett has been in the television news business for more than 10 years with behind the scenes positions at CBS in Chicago and ABC in Milwaukee. She served as a tenure-track assistant professor of electronic media journalism at Middle Tennessee State University, as well as Senior Public Affairs Officer and special assistant to the Vice Chancellor for Media Relations at Vanderbilt University.
This fall, Belmont launches its revamped journalism program, designed to prepare journalists to work in the increasingly digital, multi-media, consolidated business world of the media.
“The journalist of the future is going to be someone who is trained from the beginning to be flexible and work in an environment that mixes digital images, sound, text and the Internet as well as traditional newspapers, magazines and television and radio broadcasts,” says Storey.
