The director of the School of Journalism and Broadcasting announced at a specially-called faculty meeting Wednesday afternoon he would be stepping down as of June 30, 2017.

Loup Langton, who has been at WKU since 2011, said he was leaving the position with two years left in his appointment because he believed it would be the best opportunity for him to continue to contribute to the school.

“I didn’t want to start something I couldn’t finish,” Langton said. “I think, instead, it’s time for someone to come in with a fresh vision to come in and be able to see it through.”

Langton said he will remain at WKU after next June as a faculty member. He said the courses he will teach have to be determined based on what the school needs and the skills he can offer, but he is interested in focusing on ideas of the future of journalism, collaboration in media and international partnership.

He also said he was interested in helping organize a small graduate program within the SJ&B.

Langton came to WKU from the University of Miami through an external faculty search for the position of director. He was previously the director of photography for El Universo, one of the largest newspapers in Ecuador, and Copley Chicago Newspapers before becoming the program director of visual journalism at UM. He also helped create Pictures of the Year International-Latin America, one of the largest photojournalism contests in South America.

Aside from allowing him to take a different role in contributing to the vision of the SJ&B, Langton also hopes to be able to work on other projects he was unable to due to his obligations as director.

“I came here having worked on several major projects, and still have worked on them but not to the extent I would have like to,” Langton said. “This allows me to work on things on an international scale … to do the things I would like to.”

Jacob Dick can be reached at 270-745-6011 and [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at @jdickjournalism.