FOCUS

History

FOCUS was initiated in 1971 at the request of the Faculty Senate to replace the Faculty Bulletin (also available on the Digital Collections site), which consisted mostly of administration announcements. The Senate wanted a publication that “would allow conversation among faculty, and between faculty and other members of the campus community, [in order to] contribute to the creation of a ‘real’ campus community.” FOCUS took an “independent” stance, often publishing pieces that were critical of the university and its administration. In 1975 the paper rebranded from exclusively a faculty publication to one of faculty and staff. 

The University’s public relations office edited the FOCUS during its first year. The Senate felt that only a faculty editor could make the paper distinct from the Faculty Bulletin, which was published by the administration. In 1972 the Senate asked David Demarest, a faculty member in the English department, to take over the editorship of the publication after a popular contribution he made in the paper’s first volume. Between 1972 and 1994 Demarest edited and supervised the layout and design of the newspaper. He also regularly contributed in-depth interviews with faculty and staff members from various departments across campus. Jim Davidson, a writer for the Sunday News section of the Pittsburgh Press and adjunct professor of English took over as the FOCUS editor in 1994. Lynn Berard, a science librarian became editor of FOCUS in the summer of 2004.

Publication Cycle:

• 1971-1973 (Vol. 1-2): Twice monthly during the academic year, with the exception of December and January
• 1973-1975 (Vol. 3-4): Five issues a semester
• 1975-1983 (Vol. 5-12): Nine issues a year
• 1983-2008 (Vol. 13-37): Seven issues a year