Dear Faculty, Staff, Colleagues, Students, Alumni and Friends:

It is with a combination of sadness and excitement that I tell you that I have accepted an offer from Syracuse University to be the new dean of the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communication. My appointment was announced by SU on March 12.

Some of you know that I have agonized over this decision for the last couple weeks, not because I didn't recognize what a wonderful opportunity this deanship presented, but because I have grown so attached to UT and the School of Journalism. It is hard to say goodbye.

But I feel good about the progress we have made in my nearly six years here and I know that the UT School of Journalism will continue to move forward and do great things. I am especially proud of our success in raising money for a new home for the J-School. Next year we will break ground on a wonderful new building, the Belo Center for New Media, a major step in preparing our students for the digital future. I regret that I won't be around to see it.

I will begin at Syracuse on July 1, which feels like next week. I still have things to wrap up here and I will work with Dean Hart to ensure a smooth transition.

Thank you one and all. It has been a real pleasure to work with such a talented faculty and student body and with a tremendously supportive group of alumni and friends of our program. I will be forever grateful for the opportunity I have had to be associated with one of the best journalism schools in the nation.

Hook'em horns.

Lorraine B.