Jorge Reina Schement

Jorge Reina Schement is Emeritus Distinguished Professor of Communication Policy in the Dept. of Journalism and Media Studies (JMS), School of Communication and Information (SC&I) with affiliations in American Studies and Latino Studies at Rutgers University. He previously served as the first Vice President and Vice Chancellor for Diversity and Inclusion for RU-New Brunswick and for Rutgers Biological and Health Sciences. He also served as Dean of SC&I, he initiated the idea of the Gloria Steinem Endowed Chair, and led the Executive Planning Committee for Rutgers’ 250th Anniversary celebration. He was a Distinguished Professor, and cofounder of the Institute for Information Policy at Penn State University. Schement holds a Ph.D. from Stanford University, an MS from the University of Illinois, and a BBA from SMU. He is author of over 250 books, papers, and articles.

As Vice Chancellor, he formally established the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, organized the President’s Diversity Council, the Chancellor’s Pathways Council, as well as the first Diversity Forum and Diversity Almanac. He authored the diversity and inclusion passages for the 2015 Strategic Plan, oversaw the Civic Engagement Collaborative, and sponsored a University library portal for diversity-related materials. As Dean, he recruited and promoted women and minority faculty and staff to their highest numbers in the history of the School. 

A Latino from South Texas, his research focuses on the social and policy implications of the production and consumption of information, especially as they relate to ethnic minorities. He conducted the first study of the impact of minority ownership in broadcasting, and conducted the original research that led to recognition of the Digital Divide. He introduced the idea of Universal Service as an evolving concept in the Telecommunications Act of 1996. His studies of minority ownership contributed to the Supreme Court’s decision in Metro Broadcasting, Inc. v. F.C.C. et al. He has served on editorial boards of 18 academic journals, guest edited the Annual Review of Technology for the Aspen Institute, and is editor-in-chief of the Encyclopedia of Communication and Information, as well as an Opinion Contributor for USA Today.

He served on President George W. Bush's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, the Technology Advisory Committee for Governor Jerry Brown of California, and authored the telecommunications policy agenda for the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. He is a founding member of the FCC Federal Advisory Committee on Diversity in the Digital Age. Schement served on the Transition Team for New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy, and as a member of the Steering Committee for the Governor’s Diversity Council. He served as an advisor to the FCC Transition Team for President Barack Obama, and for President Joe Biden. 

Schement has served on boards for the National Academy of Sciences, National Research Council, National Science Foundation, National Endowment for the Humanities, Office of Technology Assessment, U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, Centers for Disease Control, Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey, Media Access Project, Libraries for the Future, Tomás Rivera Policy Institute, Center for Media Education, Internet Policy Institute, American Library Association, Minority Media Telecommunications Council, New Millennium Research Council, Open Society Institute, Advertising Council, Benton Foundation, Aspen Institute, MCI, Sprint, Verizon, Pew Project on Internet and American Life, the New Jersey Folk festival, and the Harwood Institute. He chaired the board of directors of TPRC Inc.

Ph.D., Institute for Communication Research, Stanford University
M.S., School of Commerce, University of Illinois
B.B.A., Marketing, School of Business, Southern Methodist