Rafael Lorente

Notable work and positions

Philip Merrill College of Journalism, University of Maryland — Dean (2023– )
Former Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Director, Master's Program, Merrill College
South Florida Sun-Sentinel and Miami Herald — Former reporter

Biography

Rafael Lorente became dean of the University of Maryland's Philip Merrill College of Journalism on July 1, 2023, succeeding Lucy Dalglish. He joined the college's faculty in 2005 and had served as associate dean for academic affairs, director of the master's program, a senior lecturer, and director of the Capital News Service's Washington, D.C. and Annapolis bureaus. A 1998 Merrill master's alumnus, Lorente was previously a reporter for the South Florida Sun-Sentinel and the Miami Herald, focusing on legislative and political matters and higher education. As the Sun-Sentinel's Washington reporter, he covered the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections, the September 11 attacks, and U.S.-Cuba relations. As dean, Lorente helped secure a three-year, $3 million grant from the Scripps Howard Foundation that established the Howard Center for Investigative Journalism and co-led development of a master's degree in data journalism offered jointly with Maryland's College of Information Studies. He holds a B.A. from the University of Miami in English, politics, and public affairs, and an M.A. in journalism from the University of Maryland. He serves as vice chair of a national committee for the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications and on the boards of directors of the Center for Media Integrity of the Americas and the National Press Foundation.