Rafael Lorente

Rafael Lorente became dean of the Philip Merrill College of Journalism on July 1, 2023. Previously, he was the associate dean for academic affairs, director of the master’s program, a senior lecturer, and director of the Capital News Service Washington, D.C., and Annapolis bureaus.

Before joining academia, Lorente, a 1998 Merrill master’s alum, was a journalist at the South Florida Sun-Sentinel and Miami Herald, particularly focused on legislative and political matters and higher education. As a reporter in Washington for the Sun Sentinel, he covered the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections, the attacks of Sept. 11, and U.S.-Cuba relations. 

He serves as vice chair of a national committee for the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications; on the steering committee for the Hearst Journalism Awards Program; on the board of directors for both the Center for Media Integrity of the Americas and the National Press Foundation; and chairs the D.C. Regional Planning Committee for Phillips Academy, Andover. He also recently served on the board of directors for the National Press Club Journalism Institute.

Degrees
B.A., University of Miami
M.A., University of Maryland