Dr. Lillian Lodge Kopenhaver is a full professor and dean of the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Florida International University in Miami where she has held a number of administrative positions since joining the university in 1973, one year after it opened.

Dr. Kopenhaver has been involved in journalism education throughout her career. She served as president of a number of national organizations, including the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, College Media Advisers, the Community College Journalism Association and the Student Press Law Center, and was inducted into the Hall of Fame of both CMA and CCJA. She was awarded the Gold Key from the Columbia Scholastic Press Association, the Pioneer Award from the National Scholastic Press Association and the Wells Memorial Key from the Society of Professional Journalists, where she was only the second woman in 77 years to receive its highest award. She also received the Distinguished Service Award from CMA and from the Newspaper Division of AEJMC, and the Distinguished Alumnus Award from Rowan University in 2005. She is very proud of having been given the Outstanding Faculty Award for 2000 from the FIU Alumni Association.

Her area of research and publication revolves around the First Amendment rights of the press, with special emphasis on scholastic and collegiate student media. She has traveled through a good portion of Europe, and has also been to a number of Latin American countries.