Where can one learn to appreciate newspapers, make a career out of it and gain a profound respect for the First Amendment? Dean White got all of that from his first job at the Star – delivering newspapers.

Dean always has enjoyed being associated with a recognizable organization, one that is part of people’s lives. That’s why in 1985, while at NIU, he joined the Northern Star and quickly became the circulation manager.”I loved it,” he says. “It was a terrific experience. I learned a lot.”

Jim Harty, Dean’s friend since college, still can picture Dean on the job:

“I vividly remember one early morning in downtown DeKalb seeing the Star van flying around the corner on two wheels, stopping suddenly and two guys laughing, getting out in unison carrying bundles of papers and delivering them to businesses, getting back in the van and repeating the sequence with almost military precision. That was Dean’s managing style at work – organization, fun and efficiency.”

Dean learned to understand and appreciate the First Amendment and the importance of press freedom during the Northern Star struggle with then-NIU president Clyde Wingfield.

After graduating from NIU in 1988 with a degree in management, Dean joined the Chicago Tribune circulation department. During his five years there, he held eight positions and was promoted approximately every nine months. He was Single Copy Manager before relocating to Las Vegas in 1993. Dean started at the Las Vegas Review-Journal as the Home Delivery Manager, was promoted to Circulation Manager and, in 2004, became the Director of Marketing and Promotions.

His friends think he is “major” fun loving, constantly on a learning mode and hard working to improve his and other peoples’ lives. He describes himself “tenacious” although mellowing with maturity.

Dean holds an MBA from the University of Nevada-Las Vegas and is a 2003 graduate of the Advanced Executive Program for Media Executives at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. He has started and is active in the NIU Alumni Las Vegas Chapter. Dean loves bicycling and has participates in many fundraising rides for organizations like AIDS and MS.

In his friend Jim Harty’s words, “Deano has a tremendous amount of energy, is intense, very outgoing, absolutely loyal and unbelievable as it sounds never drank while in college.”