Message from the Dean

Fall 2025 Dean’s Welcome

Welcome to the Fall semester and the start of a new academic year!

Whether you’re returning to campus or here for the first time, I’m thrilled to welcome you to the Annenberg School of Communication.

You will find that our School is truly a special place, and our community is more than just where learning happens—it’s where people come together. It’s a space for groundbreaking research, inspired teaching, and the belief that communication can transform lives and societies.

As we know, Annenberg has a long history of cutting-edge research and teaching, ranging from health communication to cultural studies, from computational social science to the study of politics, policy and media institutions. Our work shapes how stories are told, unpacks how political campaigns are run, unravels the forces that shape cultural identities, and illustrates the ways ideas move through society. This year, we continue that tradition with the launch of a major new initiative: the Master of Communication and Media Industries (MCMI) program.

It builds on the legacy of our original master’s program, which trained hundreds of accomplished professionals and scholars who continue to shape and influence the field of communication in meaningful ways. The curriculum for our new program will offer both practitioner-based and theoretically oriented courses, focusing on a fast-paced media landscape that changes every day.

I am thrilled to welcome a new cohort of 15 outstanding doctoral students this fall. These scholars come to us with diverse areas of expertise and a shared passion for advancing knowledge and exploring every aspect of communication. I’m also excited to see our undergraduate students continue to learn and thrive.  Our students’ ideas and energy will enrich our classrooms, our research, and our collective conversations, strengthening the intellectual fabric of our School.

This year also promises a dynamic lineup of events that reflect our intellectual vibrancy. We will welcome political commentator Chris Hayes and legal scholar Kate Shaw as our 2025 distinguished Annenberg Lecture speakers. I look forward to hearing from them and the many other brilliant speakers at our landmark events — the George Gerbner Alumni Lecture and the Elihu Katz Colloquia — and the many other lectures and symposia at our School. These events remind us of the powerful intersections between theory and practice, scholarship and society, and are designed to inspire, challenge, and expand our perspectives. I invite each of you to participate and engage with the ideas presented.

We begin this academic year during a time of complexity and challenge. The landscape of higher education is shifting, and many of the subjects we study and research – race, sexuality, gender, to name a few – are at the center of public scrutiny. And, through it all, our mission endures - to explore communication in all its power, to stand for academic freedom, and to care deeply for one another with intention and purpose.

This Fall, we also pause to honor Wallis Annenberg, who sadly passed away this summer. Her legacy is her life rooted in altruism, social justice, and public service, and it will continue to inspire our work. Using communication as a force for dignity and connection, we will carry her vision forward.

As I look ahead, I am filled with hope and gratitude. The strength of Annenberg lies in the people in it: the students who push boundaries, the faculty who inspire and spark new ideas, the researchers who illuminate new insights, and the staff whose dedication makes it all possible. In a world that is changing fast, our work has never been more urgent – or more meaningful.

Here’s to a new and energizing year ahead.

Warmly,
Sarah

Sarah Banet-Weiser, Ph.D.
Walter H. Annenberg Dean
Lauren Berlant Professor of Communication, Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania
Research Professor, Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, University of Southern California