Academic Dean Representative to the Board, 2025 – 2027
Appointed dean of the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications in 2020, Mark J. Lodato leads a team of some 200 faculty and staff at a school with approximately 2,400 students.
Lodato has reinforced Newhouse’s reputation as the premier school in its field, a forward-thinking institution that pivots to align with the needs of the fast-moving media and communications industries. Recognized as a prominent voice in higher education journalism and communications, Lodato serves along with a select number of deans on the Carnegie-Knight Initiative on the Future of Journalism Education, among other leadership positions.
Reappointed to a second five-year term in 2025, Lodato has embraced collaborative and innovative approaches to pursuing education excellence. In fall 2025, Lodato worked with leadership across the University to launch the Center for the Creator Economy. A joint initiative with the Whitman School of Management, the center is the first academic endeavor of its kind on a U.S. college campus.
Lodato has embraced efforts to expand professional partnerships that boost experiential learning, including opportunities with industry leaders like CBS News and Stations, Spectrum and Nexstar. Most recently, Lodato helped forge a new partnership with Sony Electronics that provides state-of-the-art equipment, hands-on training and world-class industry expertise to prepare students for careers in media, entertainment and visual communications.
Bolstering research and creative activity efforts have been a priority under Lodato. The school is committed to taking a lead role in the national conversation around the responsible use of artificial intelligence in communications.
Affirming Newhouse’s reputation for academic excellence, an April 2023 reaccreditation report lauded the school as one of the “very best” for mass communications.
Lodato joined the Newhouse School after more than 14 years at Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication, where he served as associate dean and associate general manager at Arizona PBS.
Lodato is serving a two-year term as academic dean representative from 2025-27. He participates in the Board Academic Affairs Committee and reports to the Board at Executive Committee and full Board meetings.