The 12 institutions of the Big Ten conference are making a significant impact on the world each and every day. Watch the newest Big Ten Network program, "Impact the World," which premieres at 9:30 p.m. EST January 10.

More Information »

EAST LANSING, Mich. - Steven S. Wildman, professor of communication studies at Northwestern University's School of Speech, has been named the James H. Quello Endowed Chair of Telecommunication Studies and director of the James H. and Mary B. Quello Center for Telecommunication Management and Law at Michigan State University.

The appointment is effective Aug. 16.

The Quello Center, part of the Department of Telecommunication in MSU's College of Communication Arts and Sciences, was established in 1998. With Wildman's appointment, the center will embark on an ambitious program of teaching, research and outreach in the rapidly changing world of telecommunication management, policy and law. It will convene experts from around the world, sponsor public lectures, conduct research on fundamental questions of telecommunication management and policy, and serve as a critical source of information and expertise for government, business and the non-profit community.

"The new technologies that are transforming communication industries are making necessary a fundamental rethinking of the business models and regulatory paradigms that have guided business and policymakers to this point," Wildman said. "I look forward to seeing the Quello Center become an international focal point and play a leading role in the development of the new ideas that will carry us forward in a new era for communications."

"Steven Wildman is one of the foremost media economists in the country," said James D. Spaniolo, dean of the College of Communication Arts and Sciences. "He is a distinguished teacher and researcher whose vision, expertise and reputation will help establish the Quello Center as one of the world's leading sites of innovative thinking in the field of global telecommunication."

Wildman, who joined the Northwestern faculty in 1988, has a Ph.D. in economics from Stanford University. He has also taught at UCLA and was a consultant to the Rand Corp. and a number of large communication companies.

Joining Wildman at the Quello Center will be Barbara A. Cherry, a faculty colleague from Northwestern University and a former lawyer and executive for AT&T and Ameritech. She will serve as associate director of the center and has been appointed an associate professor in the Department of Telecommunication. She has a Ph.D. in communication studies from Northwestern and a law degree from Harvard.

The center is named for James H. Quello and Mary B. Quello, both MSU alumni who met while students on campus in the 1930s. Mr. Quello, a former chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, retired from the FCC in 1997 after serving for 23 years.