Finalists named to replace CUNY dean

The former editor of Sports Illustrated, the creator of a religion news site, and the director of its urban reporting program are the finalists to be the next dean of the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism.

The winner will replace Steve Shepard, the former BusinessWeek editor who was the founding dean. The CUNY Graduate School of Journalism runs a business journalism program.

According to a memo from CUNY trustee Peter Pantaleo, the finalists were picked from nearly 30 candidates and seven semi-finalists, who were interviewed by a search committee.

The finalists are:

1. Steve Waldman, who founded Beliefnet.com in 1998 and sold it to News Corp. to 2007. Waldman was also a national editor at U.S. News & World Report, a national correspondent for Newsweek, and a senior advisor to the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission. He recently created Daily Bridge Media, which has launched a site about the Brooklyn Nets.
2. Terry McDonell, who retired from Time Inc. at the end of 2012 after editing the Sports Illustrated group of magazines and websites for 10 years. McDonell also converted US magazine to a weekly in 2000, and his magazines and websites have won five National Magazine Awards. He recently created an editorial group to create publishing, video and film ventures across multiple platforms.
3. Sarah Bartlett, the director of the school’s Urban Reporting Program. Bartlett was also the Bloomberg chair in business journalism at Baruch and was assistant managing editor at BusinessWeek. She also worked for the New York Times and Fortune magazine.

Each finalist will meet with members of the School of Journalism faculty, administration and students next week.