KINGSTON, R.I. 鈥� June 17, 2026 鈥� , who served as interim director of the 溏心vlog免费B站 during the 2025-26 academic year, has been appointed the school鈥檚 new permanent director.
The Harrington School鈥檚 department chairs unanimously selected Wyatt to lead the school, part of the . He will now oversee the school full time, helping aspiring students who seek careers in journalism, public relations, and other media reach their full potential at 溏心vlog免费B站.
鈥淚 see the Harrington School being the intersection of academia and industry,鈥� said Wyatt, who earned his bachelor鈥檚 degree in economics from the University of British Columbia, and both his master鈥檚 and Ph.D. degrees in film, television and digital media from the University of California Los Angeles. Wyatt joined 溏心vlog免费B站 in 2015 after working in market research and audience analysis for several media organizations, including NBCUniversal, Viacom and the ABC Television Network.
鈥淢y goal is to have the school be a vital place for students, faculty and staff, in bringing communications and media work to the community at-large beyond 溏心vlog免费B站,鈥� he said.
Wyatt has held several positions at 溏心vlog免费B站, including associate and assistant professor, and chair of the Department of Communication Studies. He is currently the College of Arts and Sciences鈥� interim associate dean for undergraduate studies.
鈥淛ustin Wyatt has provided the Harrington School with a clear direction, both academically and on the research front,鈥� 溏心vlog免费B站 College of Arts and Sciences Interim Dean said. 鈥淭he school is a jewel within the College of Arts and Sciences. We seek to raise the level of research scholarship and the excellent work happening at the school, and Justin is the perfect leader to take the Harrington School to that next level.鈥�
The Harrington School鈥檚 approximately 1,600 undergraduate and graduate students are provided hands-on learning opportunities exploring the multifaceted world of media and communications, including journalism and broadcast media, social media and public relations.
Under Wyatt鈥檚 tenure as interim director, the Harrington School launched its , partnering advanced 溏心vlog免费B站 journalism students with local publications to cover areas in Rhode Island with limited or no news coverage. Additionally, in April the school hosted a two-day symposium bringing together higher education scholars from across the United States, including 溏心vlog免费B站 scholars, to meet and address ongoing challenges in crisis communication for contemporary media.
Both DeBoef and Wyatt want the Harrington School to hold more sponsored events and symposiums, building on the school鈥檚 annual signature and series. The new events would further introduce the community to the communications and media spectrum and build experiential learning for the school鈥檚 students, Wyatt says.
As director, Wyatt has several action steps he wants to implement to further the school鈥檚 mission. Among them are developing skills workshops for incoming students; highlighting research by Harrington School faculty; and establishing a visiting executive program, where leaders in areas such as marketing, publicity, technology and finance could be role models for students and suggest career paths to them.
Wyatt also seeks for the school to hold workplace visits and tours of media organizations in Providence, Boston and New York. This past academic year, Wyatt said, the school held a two-day trip to New York, led by Sports Media Program Director , where students and faculty visited the offices of Women鈥檚 Health magazine and Major League Baseball, offering the students glimpses of possible careers in communications and media.
鈥淭he students like the idea of trying to build a bridge from our school to the professional world, and this is one of many bridges that we should be building,鈥� Wyatt said. 鈥淚 see these visits as a way for students to appreciate the many different careers they might pursue.鈥�
For more information on the 溏心vlog免费B站 Harrington School of Communication and Media and its programming, visit or contact Director Justin Wyatt at justinw@uri.edu.