R.B. Brenner is a professor and the director of the School of Journalism at the University of Texas.

He arrived at UT-Austin in August 2014 from Stanford University, where he joined the faculty four years earlier after leaving The Washington Post. At The Post, his roles included Metro Editor, Sunday Editor and Deputy Universal News Editor. He was one of the primary editors of the newspaper’s coverage of the Virginia Tech shootings, which was awarded a Pulitzer Prize in 2008, and played a leadership role in merging the digital and print newsrooms. While at The Post, he served as the journalism consultant for the 2009 film “State of Play” and appeared on screen in a two-line speaking role, despite no discernible acting ability.

At UT-Austin, he leads a team of journalism, film, computer science and engineering students working on virtual reality and 360-degree video projects in partnership with The Washington Post. His journalism career also included reporting and editing jobs at newspapers in California, Florida and North Carolina.