Columnist Charles Davis named dean of University of Georgia’s journalism school

Longtime IRE Journal FOI columnist and University of Missouri professor Charles Davis has been named dean of the University of Georgia's Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication.

Davis has enlightened IRE members with his FOI column in every issue since 2000.

"Charles has the ability to effortlessly cut through obfuscation and bureaucratic smokescreens to get to the essence of an issue," IRE Executive Director Mark Horvit said. "His columns have helped IRE members make sense of the often senseless world of government accountability, and his voice will be missed." 

The FOI column will be turned over to David Cuillier, who co-authored with Davis “The Art of Access: Strategies for Acquiring Public Records.”

Davis will start at UGA in July.

“I'd like to thank the IRE community for everything they do, and for making me much better at my job through the years. I have learned so much from IRE members, and have worked with countless journalists over the years on tackling government secrecy issues. My respect and admiration for the hard, often thankless work that journalists do daily to keep us informed has only grown ever larger through the years. I'll miss the daily contact with IRE staff, but I'll never be too far from the issues that animate us all,” Davis said.