photo by: Submitted

Jennifer Vardeman

The leader of the University of Houston’s School of Communication is the fourth and final candidate to become the next dean of the University of Kansas’ journalism school.

Jennifer Vardeman, director of the Jack J. Valenti School of Communication at the University of Houston, will give a public presentation at 2:15 p.m. on Thursday at Capitol Federal Hall on the Lawrence campus. Vardeman will detail her vision for KU’s William Allen White School of Journalism & Mass Communications.

As director of the Houston school, Vardman oversees the instruction of about 1,400 students, more than 50 faculty and staff members and a $2.3 million budget. She’s also a professor in the school, and has published research on a variety of health communication topics, with an emphasis on women’s health.

Vardeman has a doctorate and a master’s degree in public relations from the University of Maryland, and has an undergraduate degree in public relations from the University of Texas.

Vardeman is one of four finalists for the dean position. Scott Reinardy, a KU journalism professor who is serving as the school’s interim dean, Judith Rosenbaum-Andre chair of the Department of Communication and Journalism at the University of Maine, and Cory Amstrong, a journalism professor at the University of Nebraska, were announced earlier.

The dean position became open after longtime journalism dean Ann Brill stepped down from the position last year to return to teaching duties at the school.