Marie Hardin

Professor Marie Hardin has been dean of the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications at Penn State since 2014. Under her leadership, the Bellisario College — the largest accredited mass communications program in the country — has bolstered its reputation for high-quality undergraduate and graduate education, broadened its impact in interdisciplinary research and expanded its outreach. Its success is due largely to its internationally renowned faculty and to a highly collegial, collaborative culture fostered by employees and students, with Hardin’s leadership.

Hardin led the Bellisario College’s renaming and rebranding in 2017 after securing a $30 million gift from 1961 alumnus Donald P. Bellisario. The University committed an additional $45 million in support of Hardin’s vision for a new media center, which opened in 2020. For the first time in the history of the Bellisario College, the media center brings all departments and majors together to fulfill its mission to prepare the next generation of digital storytellers and industry leaders. The Bellisario College offers some of the largest majors at the University, and its four-year graduation rate is one of the highest at Penn State. Since Hardin became dean, revenues generated through online degree programs have more than tripled, and its annual research expenditures have increased more than four-fold, along with its external support for research. It is one of just a few units at the University to surpass its fundraising goal twice during the campaign that ended in 2022.

Hardin has served on numerous University-wide committees and led efforts that engage other colleges at Penn State, other institutions of higher learning, and private-sector partners. She has twice been elected to lead Penn State’s Academic Leadership Council, which represents all deans and chancellors systemwide. She spearheaded the collective buy-in of units across the University to launch the Center for Immersive Experiences, which was named a signature initiative for Penn State in 2019. She also led a committee that designed the University’s COVID classroom response in 2020. She is one of two deans asked to help redesign Penn State’s budget allocation model for all academic units, which will be implemented for the 2024 financial year.

Hardin served as president of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, a nonprofit, educational association of journalism and mass communication educators, students and media professionals, in 2019. She chairs the committee for the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communication. She is also on leadership board of the Alliance of Schools and Colleges of Communication and Journalism and is chair of the steering committee for the Hearst Journalism Awards Program.

Hardin’s research has focused on issues of diversity, ethics and professionalism in sports journalism. She is author of more than 60 journal articles and book chapters and is co-editor of two books (Routledge, Peter Lang) and a book series (Peter Lang). She co-editor of the Sage journal "Communication & Sport," a leading title in the field. In 2013, the University of Georgia Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication named her a distinguished alumni scholar.

Hardin arrived at Penn State in 2003 as an assistant professor. In 2007, she was promoted to associate professor. In 2009, she was one of four Penn State faculty recipients of the University-wide George W. Atherton Award for Excellence in Teaching. She also was appointed the Bellisario College's associate dean for administration. Hardin was promoted to associate dean for graduate studies and research in 2010. She has also held leadership roles in the Arthur W. Page Center for Integrity in Public Communication and the John Curley Center for Sports Journalism. She was elevated to associate dean for undergraduate and graduate education in 2011. She was promoted to professor in 2012.

Hardin has taught graduate and undergraduate classes that examine the interplay of sports and society. As dean, she regularly teaches a large-enrollment first-year class that focuses on college success and career preparation. Before joining Penn State, she taught at Florida Southern College and the State University of West Georgia. She earned her doctoral degree in 1998 from the University of Georgia.

• Podcast

• Radio Interview: KCBS-AM (Sports Illustrated, Martha Stewart)
• Penn State dean prepares students for the future
• Penn State leaders promote ‘connection, authenticity, community’ through new video series
• Media center delayed, January opening targeted
• Time capsule from 1949 shows familiar Penn State names and stories
• Contents of time capsule from 1949 show similarities in life at the University
• Fake news? No jobs? Prospective journalists soldier on
• In the age of 'enemy of the people' rhetoric, do young people still want to be journalists?
• Bellisario dean discusses digital innovation with trustees
• Hardin inspires staff as Bellisario College dean
• Often it’s a perilous journey to find the truth
• How far have women in sports media really come?
• Our choices add up: A lesson from ‘The Circle’
• Dean Hardin set to teach own class in fall semester
• Communications dean elected to leadership role with AEJMC
• Why don't people watch women's sports?
• Penn State seeking greater student engagement in upcoming semester plans
• A Conversation with Marie Hardin
• On campus, going public with private battles
• The story behind TMZ's erroneous 'scoop' involving Harrisburg native Adrian Robinson's death
• For Jenner, a new legacy
• Q&A with the Class of 2014 college deans
• Students, professors speak out: The necessity of strong ethics in journalism
• Students spending spring break on the job in Hong Kong
• New Penn State Hollywood Program will put students in Tinseltown internships
• Sports journalism programs on the rise, but can they take the high road
• Pundits drive sports but women's opinions are almost totally absent
• Hardin steps to plate in new role of College
• Hardin named College of Communications dean
• Hardin to be featured in City Lights session
• Panel discusses football as reflection of American culture
• Hardin to guest lecture at University of Michigan
• Olympics popular among women
• Journalists frame Title IX as loss for men
• Penn State to host virtual welcome panels for Class of 2024
• Alumni entrepreneur's gift launches CommVentures
• Collegian Unfiltered with Marie Hardin
• Alumnus provides visionary gift to support students through CommAgency
• Coronavirus delays complicate campus construction projects at Penn State
• Penn State’s 2020-21 United Way campaign raises more than $620,000