Gordon A. Sabine was the sixth director of the University of Iowa’s School of Journalism from 1972 to 1976. Upon Sabine’s appointment, he reinstated the traditional news-editorial sequence, a structured curriculum that had been a hallmark of the school’s program before MacLean’s reforms.

Sabine’s educational background includes a B.A. in 1939 and an M.A. in Journalism in 1941 from the University of Wisconsin, followed by a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Minnesota in 1949. Before joining the University of Iowa, Sabine held academic positions at the University of Kansas, the University of Minnesota, and the University of Oregon, and served as Dean of the School of Journalism at the University of Oregon from 1950 to 1955.

At the University of Iowa, Sabine’s restoration of the traditional news-editorial sequence was a significant step in reestablishing the school’s credibility and aligning its curriculum with accreditation standards. This move was instrumental in the reaccreditation process, which culminated in the school’s reaccreditation by the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications (ACEJMC) in 1978.

After his tenure at Iowa, Sabine continued his academic career at Michigan State University, where he became the first dean of the College of Communication Arts and Sciences and later served as Vice President for Special Projects. He retired in 1981 and passed away in 2003.