As Texas A&M’s renewed journalism program prepares to take off the ground, Kathleen McElroy, Ph.D., Class of 1981, has been tasked with leading the effort.
 

McElroy, who previously worked as a professor in the School of Journalism and Media at the University of Texas at Austin, has enjoyed a career spanning more than 40 years teaching and practicing journalism. McElroy has worked at several publications, including the Austin American-Statesman, the Bryan-College Station Eagle, The New York Times, where she served as associate managing editor and The Battalion during her time at A&M.
 

As an academic, McElroy’s research interests include newsroom ethics, sports journalism, obituaries and racial discourse. McElroy previously served as the director of the School of Journalism and Media at the University of Texas.
 

As the new director of the A&M journalism program, some of McElroy’s key goals are strengthening partnerships with campus media organizations, such as KAMU and 12th Man Productions, as well as student organizations, such as KANM and The Battalion. McElroy also aims to create a more modern journalism curriculum that will enable student journalists to succeed in the current media landscape.