Steven Livingston, professor of political communication and international affairs, will serve as the School of Media and Public Affairs’ interim director next year, officials said.

Livingston’s areas of expertise are media, advanced information technology and international affairs. A faculty associate in GW’s Space Policy Institute, Livingston is also chairman of the board of the Public Diplomacy Institute.

Livingston has been a member of the GW faculty since 1991, after he served in the Army and completed his Ph.D. at the University of Washington. He previously served as chair of the political communication department.

Livingston will replace journalism professor Albert May, who took the position in spring 2003. May will be going on sabbatical to research politics and the media including “looking at how the Internet and politics are changing” and the 2004 election, he said.

May will resume teaching at GW again in a year.

The search for a permanent SMPA director will begin next year, concurrent with a committee’s study on how to implement curriculum changes to the school. A task force released a report this month suggesting expanding the journalism major to include mass media and phase out the electronic media program.

Livingston was out of the area and unavailable for comment.