MURFREESBORO (AP) - Ken Paulson, former editor at USA Today and CEO of the First Amendment Center at Vanderbilt University, has been selected as the next dean of the College of Mass Communication at Middle Tennessee State University.

Paulson will take over his new position on July 1 and replaces Roy Moore, who will remain with the university as a professor.

Paulson served as the top editor at USA Today from 2004 to 2009 and was on the team of journalists that founded the newspaper in 1982. A lawyer who has combined his passion for journalism, free expression and popular music, Paulson also previously served as president of the Newseum in Washington, D.C.

MTSU's mass communication college features departments of recording industry, journalism and electronic media communication.