Gordon Stables is director of schools for the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism and clinical professor of communication and journalism. His scholarship and leadership focus on how communication and journalism education can adapt to technological transformation while strengthening democratic life.

As director of schools, Stables oversees USC Annenberg's School of Communication and School of Journalism, providing academic leadership for their communication, journalism, and public relations programs through faculty affairs, curriculum, accreditation, academic planning, and student success initiatives.

Since first assuming leadership of the School of Journalism in 2017, Stables has helped guide significant curricular and organizational innovation across USC Annenberg. His work includes leading the school’s successful national reaccreditation, supporting faculty recruitment and promotion, strengthening interdisciplinary research and experiential learning, and advancing new curriculum in areas including artificial intelligence, media literacy, data storytelling, sports media, and creator studies. He also represents USC Annenberg in university curriculum and academic planning, helping connect school-level innovation with broader university academic initiatives.

Teaching remains central to his work. Stables serves as one of the lead instructors for ASCJ 200: Navigating Media and News in the Digital Age, USC Annenberg's required foundation course for communication and journalism majors. He has helped redesign the course to prepare students for an information environment increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence, digital platforms and global media systems while emphasizing critical thinking, ethical reasoning, media literacy and responsible civic participation.

Before entering senior academic leadership, Stables directed USC’s nationally recognized Trojan Debate Squad for fifteen years and later served as assistant and associate dean for student affairs. His work in debate extended beyond coaching to include leading grant-funded research on digital debate and online deliberation, supporting the growth of urban debate programs across Los Angeles, and serving in national leadership roles within the intercollegiate debate community. Most recently, he served as tournament director of the National Debate Tournament (2024–26), the nation's oldest and most prestigious collegiate debate championship.

Across more than two decades at USC, Stables has worked to connect scholarship, professional education and civic responsibility while helping shape the future of communication and journalism education. He joined the USC faculty in 2002 after earning his Ph.D. in speech communication from the University of Georgia.

Awards and Honors:

The George Ziegelmueller Award, National Debate Tournament (2011)
The Don Brownlee Award, Cross Examination Debate Association (2011)
The Ray Buchanan Coach of the Year Award, Pepperdine University (2008)
The Amy Fugate Leadership Award, Kansas City Kansas Community College (2007–08)