Bona’s introduces new J-School Dean

The Jandoli School of Communication welcomed a new dean this year, Aaron Chimbel, winner of a national Edward R. Murrow Award and five Texas Emmy Awards.
Chimbel has taught full-time at Texas Christian University since 2009, most recently as an associate professor of Professional Practice in Journalism.
Becoming a dean appealed to Chimbel because of the ability it gives to move a college forward or into a new direction. After realizing he would not be able to take a dean position at TCU in the near future, he began looking into other colleges.
“There were a lot of things that attracted me to Saint Bonaventure,” Chimbel said. “One being the history of the Jandoli School and the success over many years with graduates who do really well in journalism and related communication industries.”
Chimbel noted the similarities between his alma mater, TCU and Bonaventure.
“The university was really interesting to me because it is very similar to TCU in many ways,” Chimbel said. “It is smaller, but the passion that people have for the school is very similar and it’s a religiously affiliated, liberal arts university that has Division I athletics. You have sort of that full college experience, yet everything is very personal.”
Another factor that attracted Chimbel to Bonaventure was the students and faculty of the Jandoli School. He was impressed by the students’ passion and the professors’ dedication during his initial visit and interview, noting the students who sat on the panel asked many great questions.
Since being on campus, Chimbel said everyone – from faculty, administers, alumni and donors – has been welcoming and supportive. Since he began work on Aug. 1, he enjoyed watching the university come to life as the students moved back on campus.
Although Chimbel began his career just recently at Bonaventure, he is planning for the years ahead. He believes the Jandoli School has a strong foundation, but there are some improvements he would like to make. One of these improvements would be to create a facility that inspires and allows students to be the future in their fields of study.
“I’d like to develop the facility so that this can really be a premier place where the facility can match the caliber of students that are here,” said Chimbel.
Chimbel also believes upgrading the facility, the John J. Murphy Professional Building, could increase the school’s enrollment.
“At the same time, it’s also really important that when prospective students come, that they see that this is a place where they can envision themselves being communicators and journalists of the future,” said Chimbel. “So we want to have an environment where that’s what you think of.”
On top of the facility, Chimbel touched on the improvements he plans to make in curriculum.
“Always, you want to be looking at your curriculum and assessing, are we not only really good at the basics, but are we also being experimental, entrepreneurial and trying new things, pushing the industry forward?” Chimbel said.
Chimbel said there is discussion of potentially adding undergraduate majors to the school in broadcast journalism and sports media, as well as a graduate program in health communication. While the school already essentially offers this expertise within its existing majors, adding these majors would create additional avenues for new students to enter the school through.
“It would package it in a way that might attract prospective students who otherwise might not have considered this school,” said Chimbel.
In the near future, Chimbel is looking toward accreditation, which will take place this year. The school went up for initial accreditation two years ago, but got provisional in diversity and assessment: the two biggest areas that Chimbel said programs struggle with. He said the staff has been working to improve in those areas.
“It can be a challenge to have all of the pieces required for accreditation,” said Chimbel. “It would signal that the school is among very elite company.”
Of the nearly 500 journalism and mass communication schools in the United States, 112 are accredited and of those, less than 20 are private universities, said Chimbel.
Chimbel believes becoming accredited would be a huge step for the school and could be used to market the school and grow enrollment. Additionally, he said there is financial support and student awards the school can get once it is accredited.
“We’re just really happy to be here,” Chimbel said. “I think the school has done a really great job for a long time and has been a premier part of Bonaventure. We need to keep in mind how lucky we are to be at this school and that we have a responsibility to be a really good steward of the Jandoli legacy.”