John Slania
Associate Dean
Senior Professional in Residence
John Slania has served as an administrator in the School of Communication for the past 10 years, including duties as Acting Dean, Associate Dean, and Director of the Journalism Program.
He is a veteran journalist who spent nearly 20 years as a newspaper reporter and editor, including positions at the Chicago Tribune, Milwaukee Journal and Arlington Heights Daily Herald.
At Loyola, Slania has helped develop the journalism major and several community engagement initiatives, including delivering a four-year journalism curriculum at Senn High School in Chicago’s Edgewater neighborhood.
Slania and his students have developed several journalism projects that focus on community engagement in Chicago.
Mosaic Magazine, now in its 16th year, is a social justice publication that explores important issues in the city's neighborhoods, such as violence, homelessness and education.
Loyola Longform is a book publishing project that allows students to profile newsmakers in Chicago, with their stories and images printed in a hardcover book. The series includes the titles, Working in Chicago and Living in Chicago.
Most recently, Slania secured grants from the McCormick Foundation and After School Matters to open the Rogers Park/Edgewater Neighborhood News Bureau. Journalism students from Loyola work alongside students from Senn and Sullivan High Schools to produce local news for the website, www.rogersedgereporter.com.
Slania holds a master’s degree from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University, and a bachelor’s degree in Communication and English from Loyola University Chicago.
Education
MSJ from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.
B.S. with a double major in Communication and English at Loyola University Chicago
Courses Taught
Reporting & Writing Across Platforms, Writing for the Web, Sports Journalism, and Writing for Business and Trade Publications as well as overseeing the annual publication of Mosaic. The Mosaic, which focuses on issues of social justice, is produced by the Advanced Reporting class each fall. The first issue of the Mosaic came out spring 2004.