Longtime leader of SPLC moving on; search for new director to begin this month

Mark Goodman, the exectuive director of the Student Press Law Center since 1985, has resigned his position effective January 2008 to accept a newly created position at Kent State University as Knight Chair in Scholastic Journalism.

According to the SPLC press release:

SPLC’s board has begun making plans for a smooth transition as our organization enters a new era. A committee already is at work outlining the qualities, background and experience we are looking for in a new executive director. We expect to have a job description and application information available later this month. Please check the SPLC’s Web site in a few weeks for more detail: www.splc.org/directorsearch. Our goal is to interview candidates during the summer and name a successor by the late fall/early winter. (If you have names to recommend for consideration as the new executive director, send them to searchcommittee@splc.org). Mark will officially begin work at Kent State in January, 2008, and he will play a key role in the transition process.

It is unknown at this point whether the committee will be seeking another lawyer to fill the position.

If you've ever had the good fortune to attend a session by Goodman at the annual NSPA/JEA conventions, you know what an awesome advocate for student rights he is. Under his leadership, the SPLC has literally helped thousands of student journalists through various legal challenges.

If you'd like to send him a note of thanks for his amazing work and leadership, you can reach him here.