Letter from Interim Dean Craig

Greetings, Gaylord College alumni!

I am honored to be stepping in as Gaylord’s interim dean with the retirement of Ed Kelley.

I know some of you from classes I’ve taught over the years such as Journalism Ethics and News Editing, or from my time as director of graduate studies and later associate dean. As the longest-serving current faculty member in Gaylord, I’ve been part of great change and growth in the college. Through it all, I remain in awe of the talent, innovation and creativity of our students and faculty – and the outstanding accomplishments of our alumni.

I’ll be serving through this time of transition as we search for a long-term dean. The provost’s office, in consultation with the college, will do a national search during the 2023-24 academic year.

My greatest priority is to maintain the momentum we have in Gaylord thanks to the leadership of Dean Kelley and our entire faculty and staff. Maintaining momentum means – among other things:

• Continuing high-quality, hands-on learning opportunities for our students across all majors.
• Staying connected to the industries we serve.
• Prizing the mission of public service that unites all of our fields.
• Strengthen our efforts to celebrate the accomplishments of our students and faculty both within the college and outside.
• Keeping up our efforts to recruit great students and welcome them to the Gaylord family.

If you have ideas or questions as we go through this year, I would love to hear them. Please let me know!

Best wishes to all,

David Craig
Interim Dean and Professor
Gaylord College
dcraig@ou.edu