by Karin Dryhurst

New assistant director joins school’s Office of Development and Alumni Affairs
Carolyn Sijthoff, a 2002 UNC-Chapel Hill graduate, is the new assistant director of development and alumni affairs for the School of Journalism and Mass Communication. Sijthoff, who started in January, coordinates alumni activities, including alumni receptions and events sponsored by the Journalism Alumni and Friends Association. She also raises funds through the school’s annual fund.

Sijthoff earned a bachelor’s degree from the University in international studies. She then interned for Erskine Bowles’ 2002 U.S. Senate campaign in the national fund-raising office in Washington, D.C. She later joined The Kauffman Group in January 2003 and worked there for four years, raising funds for political candidates and non-profit organizations.

New hire revamping school’s communications
Kyle York was named assistant to the dean for communications. He is working to hone the school’s communications efforts.

York assisted in the launch of a new Web site at jomc.unc.edu and is developing a brand strategy for the school. He also worked with Roy H. Park Fellow graduate assistants Jill Canada and Greg Efthimiou to redesign the Carolina Communicator and give “greater focus to trends and issues relevant to professionals and educators in journalism and mass communication,” he said. York is exploring how to use new technology to communicate with alumni.

York graduated from the school in 1994 with a focus in public relations. He worked for the Durham Bulls, UNC-Chapel Hill’s Office of Development and University News Services before returning to the school.

School adds new IT professional
David Alexander, of Frederick, Md., was named information systems analyst at the school. Alexander reports to Fred Thomsen, director of information technology, and is responsible for the administration of computer labs, servers and general IT operations for the school.
Alexander graduated from Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University in 2002 with a bachelor’s degree in business information technology and a specialization in e-commerce.

Yopp appointed summer school dean
Jan Yopp, senior associate dean and Walter Spearman professor, has been appointed dean of the University’s Summer School beginning Jan. 2008. She will remain in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication and continue to teach a course each semester.
A faculty member in the school since 1977, Yopp teaches news writing and reporting and serves as faculty adviser to the Carolina Association of Black Journalists. She became the school’s associate dean in 1999 and has served as senior associate dean since 2005.

JAFA adds board members
Eight UNC-Chapel Hill graduates were named to the Journalism Alumni and Friends Association (JAFA) board of directors in December 2006. They will serve on the board until 2009. The JAFA board serves as an advisory committee to the School of Journalism and Mass Communication. It sponsors programs including the “Welcome Back Breakfast” on the first day of classes and the career-mentoring program. Members of the board also return to the school to meet with students and talk to classes and support fall and spring break trips to New York, Chicago and Washington, D.C.

The new members of the board are:

·    Natalie Best, vice president, French/West/Vaughn, Raleigh, N.C.
·    Matt Bowman, local sales manager, WXII-TV Hearst Argyle, Winston-Salem, N.C.
·    Bob Bryant, chairman and chief executive officer, Team Works Marketing Inc., Pinehurst, N.C.
·    Liz Carroll, account executive, Capstrat, Raleigh, N.C.
·    Sarah Lamm, manager of marketing, UNC General Alumni Association, Chapel Hill, N.C.
·    Jamee Lynch, principal, Hodge Road Elementary School, Knightdale, N.C.
·    Jim Muldrow, news editor, The Enquirer-Journal, Monroe, N.C.
·    Andrew Park, freelance writer, Chapel Hill, N.C.
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Karin Dryhurst is a senior in the school’s news-editorial sequence.