Writing my first Dean's Column is one of the many new experiences for me since becoming interim dean for the 1997-98 academic year when Duncan McDonald was recruited to be the University's Vice President for Public Affairs and Development. A national search for the dean position is now underway and should be completed by early in 1998.

This fall is the first since 1981 I will not be teaching. I am accustomed to thinking about and writing communication law and communication ethics lectures in the fall. That fact and several recent or upcoming events prompted me to write this column about the place of ethics in journalism education.

The dedication of the John L. Hulteng Student Services Center and the announcement of the creation of the John L. Hulteng Chair in Media Ethics and Responsibility were wonderful opportunities to celebrate a great teacher of professional ethics and to consider the School's long tradition of teaching ethics.

A few weeks before the Hulteng dedication, I attended a Pacific Northwest Newspaper Association conference for newspaper editors. The editors asked a panel of journalism educators, myself included, what professional values we teach students. Some in the room wondered if today's students shared the set of values that the editors believe define "good journalism."

Each of us responded from our own perspectives, but there were common themes: truth seeking, love of language and writing, creativity, a passion for good work, and above all, an understanding that the practice of journalism is a public trust.

I added that the ideal of serving the public interest is central to the School's vision of journalism education and that we believe it applies equally to all communication professionals whether they be journalists, television producers, advertising creative directors, public information officers or web page designers.

In early October, I will join a group of communication law scholars at the University of Illinois to explore the relevance of "A Free and Responsible Press," a 1947 report by the Commission on Freedom of the Press, which is generally known as the Hutchins Commission after its chair, Robert M. Hutchins.

Fifty years ago, the Hutchins Commission concluded that freedom of the press was in serious trouble. The reasons were many: increasing concentration of ownership of mass media; lack of public access to media; too much attention paid the sensational at the expense of information people really needed; a public all too willing to consume the sensational while at the same time decrying its production. Does this sound familiar?

The central message of the commission was and is central to the definition of journalism education at the J-school: To be a communication professional is to serve the public interest.

Mark N. Trahant, the publisher and editor of the Moscow (Idaho) Daily News, who is running a year-long series of articles about the Hutchins Commission in his newspaper, put it best, "[T]here is a compelling public interest in a newspaper. Yes, newspapers can and should make money. But they can also do more. It is in this respect that the merits of the Hutchins Commission make so much sense: They inspire us to be better than we are. We can contribute to democracy."

We continue to struggle with the same ethical issues that the Hutchins Commission addressed in 1947. In the J-school, as we build to meet the demands of the multimedia world, teaching professional ethics and inspiring students to contribute to democracy will remain central to our mission.