Kenneth Starck joined the UI J-School faculty as professor in 1974. He was named director of the University of Iowa School of Journalism 1975 and immediately worked to regain accreditation for the school, which was lost in 1972 due to experimental teaching. Starck stepped down from the directorship in 1986 and was succeeded by Don Smith. Smith resigned abruptly in September 1989 over severe budget cuts. Starck began his second tenure as director in January 1990 to replace Smith. The School of Journalism was due for an accreditation review in 1990 and was granted a one-year delay for the process to be held in 1991-1992. Accreditation of the school was granted three times under Starck’s directorship: 1978, 1985 and 1991. During 1986-1987, Starck was Fulbright professor in the People’s Republic of China. Starck stepped down from his second tenure as Director of the UI School of Journalism and Mass Communication in 1996 and returned to teaching full-time, his passion. During the academic year 1994-1995, Starck was Fulbright lecturer at the University of Bucharest, where he advised the administration on their curriculum development. In April 2000, the Iowa Newspaper Association honored Starck with the Distinguished Service to Newspapers Award. Kenneth Stack retired in 2004.