Four directors appointed to chapter board

Over the past three months, the board of directors made four appointments to replace members who resigned.

Three new directors were appointed at the board’s Sept. 9 meeting. They are:

Kevin Z. Smith, who brings more than 20 years of newsroom and journalism teaching experience to his new role as deputy director of the Kiplinger Program in Public Affairs Journalism at The Ohio State University. In addition, he has been a longtime leader in the Society of Professional Journalists, serving as national president in 2009-10. He has served as chairman of the national group’s Ethics Committee since 2010 and as aboard member of the Sigma Delta Chi Foundation since 2008.

Doug Buchanan, managing editor in charge of digital at Columbus Business First, where he directs the paper’s online news coverage and social media. He’s been with the paper for 15 years,starting as a banking reporter before working through several editing posts.

Jonathan Peters, a media lawyer and an assistant professor at the University of Dayton, where he teaches journalism and law. He blogs about free expression for the Harvard Law & Policy Review, and he has written on legal issues for The Atlantic, Slate, The Nation, Wired, PBS, and the Columbia Journalism Review. Peters returns to the board after completing his Ph.D. in journalism at the University of Missouri and returning to Columbus.

And a fourth director was appointed at the Nov. 11 board meeting:

Bruce Cadwallader is a long-time SPJ supporter and has held many chapter, regional and national positions with the organization. Cadwallader was chapter president in 1994-95, played a key fundraising role when the chapter hosted the national convention in 2000, and held various positions including Region 4 director and chair of the SPJ Legal Defense Fund. A former Dispatch reporter, Cadwallader now is associate director of communications for Franklin County Childrens Services.