The faculty of the School of Media and Public Affairs have recommended professor Frank Sesno to be the school’s next director, SMPA spokeswoman Grace Hall said Wednesday.

Hall said the SMPA faculty gave their unanimous support for Sesno at a meeting Tuesday. For the decision to be finalized, Sesno will need confirmation from Dean of the Columbian College of Arts and Sciences, Peg Barratt. Barratt said she received the recommendation, but had no further comment.

Sesno would replace current SMPA director Lee Huebner, who announced earlier this month that he would step down from his post when his three-year term expires in July.

Sesno, an Emmy Award-winning journalist and a former special correspondent for CNN, has been a professor at GW for three years. He was in the running to become the director of the school back in 2006 when Huebner was chosen.

This year, Sesno co-hosted a forum at Lisner Auditorium with five former secretaries of state. He also organized Planet Forward, a national documentary series about the future of energy sources, which aired on PBS this month.

Before coming to GW, Sesno was a professor of public policy and communications at George Mason University. Sesno has also served as the Washington bureau chief for CNN.