Harsha Gangadharbatla to serve as interim Hussman dean

This story was originally published on unc.edu.

Harsha Gangadharbatla will serve as interim dean of the UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media, Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost Magnus Egerstedt announced Wednesday.

Gangadharbatla, the senior associate dean for academic and faculty affairs and Hugh Morton Distinguished Professor, takes over for Raul Reis, who stepped down as dean after four years to focus on his research and teaching. He will assume the role Aug. 1.

Gangadharbatla brings more than a decade of administrative experience at various levels in higher education. Before moving to Carolina, he served on the provost’s committee that envisioned and created the College of Media, Communication and Information as Colorado University Boulder’s first new college in 53 years. He served as its associate dean of faculty development and was the founding chairperson of the advertising, public relations and media department.

He is a past president of the American Academy of Advertising, the main organization of advertising academics in the nation with over 500 members and a past head of the advertising division of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication. Gangadharbatla is the recipient of multiple career awards including the Charles H. Sandage Award for Teaching Excellence and William Payden Award for Faculty Excellence.

His research interests include the role of technology in advertising, the role of advertising in society and environmental communication. Gangadharbatla brings a multidisciplinary approach to his work with an undergraduate degree in electrical engineering from Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology in India, a master’s in advertising from Michigan State University and a doctorate from the University of Texas at Austin.

The University will launch a search for UNC Hussman’s next permanent dean in the coming months.