Accrediting Committee

The members of the Accrediting Committee meet once a year to review the reports of on-site observations submitted by site visit teams. The Committee examines the reports thoroughly and makes recommendations for accrediting actions. The recommendations are forwarded to the Accrediting Council, which makes all final accrediting decisions.

The Accrediting Committee has 15 members. The Accrediting Council President serves as an ex-officio voting member of the Committee.

Marie Hardin, Chair, Accrediting Committee
Dean
Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications
Pennsylvania State University
201 Carnegie Building
University Park, PA 16802
(814)863-1484
mch208@psu.edu

Rafael Lorente, Vice Chair, Accrediting Committee
Dean
Philip Merrill College of Journalism
University of Maryland
Knight Hall, 7765 Alumni Drive, College Park, MD 20742
(301)405-1084
rlorente@umd.edu

Andrew Alexander
Visiting Professional
Scripps College of Communication
Ohio University
54 Pophams Ford Road
Sperryville, Va. 22740
(202)368-7986
andyalexander1@me.com
(Term expires 2025)

Cristina L. Azocar
Professor
Department of Journalism
San Francisco State University
1600 Holloway Ave.
San Francisco, CA 94132-1722
(415)338-3134
cazocar@sfsu.edu
(Term expires 2027)

Peter Bhatia
CEO, Houston Landing
4203 Montrose, Suite 650
Houston TX 77006
(503)701-2771
peterkbhatia@gmail.com
(Term expires 2025)

Laura T, Coffey
President, Society for Features Journalism
Seattle, Washington
(206)913-7089
laura.coffey@gmail.com
(Term expires 2027)

George L. Daniels
Associate Professor
College of Communication and Information Sciences
The University of Alabama
Box 870172
Tuscaloosa, AL 35487-0172
(205)348-8618
gdaniels@ua.edu
(Term expires 2025)

Vince Duffy
News Director
Michigan Public
535 W. William St. Ann Arbor, MI 48103
734-355-9607
vduffy@umich.edu
(Term expires 2027)

Kenn Gaither
Dean
School of Communications
Elon University
2850 Campus Box
Elon, NC 27244
(336)278-5724
tgaither@elon.edu
(Term expires 2026)

Kristin Gilger
Professor Emerita
Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication
Arizona State University
717 W. Wood Drive, Phoenix, AZ 85029
(602)349-7696
kristin.gilger@asu.edu
(Term expires 2027)

Jackie Jones
Dean
School of Global Journalism & Communication
Morgan State University
1700 E. Cold Spring Lane,
Baltimore, MD 21251
Office: (443)885-3502
Mobile: (202) 271-6890
jacqueline.jones@morgan.edu
(Term expires 2027)

Gracie Lawson-Borders
Professor and Dean Emerita
Cathy Hughes School of Communications
Howard University
300 Bryant St. NW
Washington DC
(202)806-7694
gracie.lawsonborders@howard.edu
(Term expires 2025)

Diana Martinelli
Director
Reed School of Media and Communications
511 University Ave.,
Morgantown, WV 26506-6010
(304)293-8681
diana.martinelli@mail.wvu.edu
(Term expires 2026)

Cheryl Procter-Rogers
APR, Fellow PRSA, MCC
Executive Coach and Associate Director
Ernst & Young, LLP,
  Americas Coaching Practice
Chicago, Illinois
(847)454-7400
Cheryl@cherylprocterrogers.com
(Term expires 2026)

Al Stavitsky
Professor
Donald W. Reynolds School of Journalism
and Center for Advanced Media Studies
University of Nevada, Reno
MS 310
1664 N. Virginia St.
Reno, NV 89557-0310
(775)784-4155
ags@unr.edu
(Term expires 2026)