Health Journalist, Gary Schwitzer, Resigns
SJMC prof resigns
Gary Schwitzer, who specializes in health reporting, announced his resignation Friday.
Gary Schwitzer, University of Minnesota associate professor in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, announced Friday morning via Twitter that he has resigned.
Schwitzer said he decided to give up his tenured faculty position to focus more on “helping people understand health care issues.”
He has worked in health care journalism for 30 years as both a reporter and a professor. He is currently the publisher for HealthNewsReview.org, a site dedicated to the analysis of health-related reporting. He said he would like to devote more of his time to this project.
“I took a leave of absence this semester and it was the most professionally satisfying of my career,” Schwitzer said in a Facebook video statement. “I wrote more, traveled more, gave more talks and conducted more workshops than really I’d ever done in one year prior.”
Citing its budget woes, Schwitzer said the University needs his salary and, with his commitments to HealthNewsReview.org and his blog, he could not devote even half the time to his professorship. He also said the health journalism program he helped begin has been placed on the shelf, “so a return to the University just didn’t make sense for me.”
Schwitzer worked as a television medical reporter for 14 years. He also was the first editor-in-chief of MayoClinic.com when it started in 2000.
We don't need such a program at the U of M?
Professor Schwitzer will be missed. He was one of the leaders in the field of health journalism. Just ask any recent J-school students about his courses.
Again, this development is a matter of badly mistaken priorities.
Got a clue, Morrill Hall Gang?
There are none so blind as those who will not see, nor so deaf as those who will not hear.
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Farewell to a good man.
Gary was a truly great professor (and one of only a handful of tenured folks in the J-school - most of our instructors were adjuncts or lecturers) and was a huge influence on my path and career. He, and his teachings, will be greatly missed by future J-school students!
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