BU's Ureneck, who runs biz journalism program, to become chair

Lou Ureneck, who runs the business journalism program at Boston University, will become chair of the journalism department at the College of Communication, replacing former ABC News reporter Robert Zelnick, who is stepping down after four years, according to this announcement.

Ureneck joined the BU faculty in 2003 after six years with the Philadelphia Inquirer, where he served as deputy managing editor and assistant to the editor. Earlier he spent 22 years at the Portland Press Herald where he rose through the ranks from reporter to vice president. A 1972 University of New Hampshire graduate, he served in 1994-95 as editor-in-residence at Harvard University’s Neiman Foundation.

BU offers a Masters of Science in Business and Economics Journalism (MSBEJ) program, which offers a hands-on professional curriculum designed to produce top journalists in the field. Students not only learn how companies and markets function, but write articles that appear in daily newspapers and business journals as well as the Web. BU students meet with key business editors and reporters and take part in print, broadcast or online internships that hone their skills and knowledge.

There is no word whether Ureneck will continue to run the business journalism program, or whether the University will hire a replacement.

At the BU program, Ureneck succeeded Andrew Leckey, a syndicated columnist for the Chicago Tribune who has been named director of the American Press Institute’s business reporting project, the Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism.

The change is also covered by Boston’s alternative newspaper here.