J-School Breaking News
| School of Journalism • | The University of Montana • | March 2000 |
Team recommends reaccreditation
A national accreditation team has recommended reaccreditation for the University of Montana School of Journalism, citing among its strengths a quality dean and faculty, motivated students and the school's commitment to diversity.
A four-member team representing the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications visited the school Feb. 13-16. The visit was the culmination of a yearlong self-study conducted by the school and the completion of an extensive report submitted to ACEJMC. The site team's recommendation for reaccreditation will go to the accrediting council for final action in May.
Also singled out for praise was the school's focus on teaching news reporting and the quality of instruction, the significant media experience of its faculty, the camaraderie between faculty and students and the "vibrant" student media.
UM President George Dennison called the report "one of the most positive" he had seen in his 10 years of leadership.
"We are highly pleased with this report," said Jerry Brown, dean of the school. "It reflects well on the faculty who spend hours in their offices, after class, working with students--and it says much about the quality of students who have made this program strong, about our successful alumni and about the support we have received from state and regional media."
The team also recommended more resources to support faculty development and encourage more scholarly work. Further, members said the school "desperately needs to have broadcast and print housed in the same building." Print students take classes in the Journalism Building, while broadcast students are across campus, spread among three buildings. Dean Brown has made one of his priorities raising funds for a building to bring the approximately 400 majors under one roof.
Accreditation means the school fulfills its mission and compares favorably with similar programs. It also allows the school to approach the many notable philanthropic foundations that do not accept proposals from non-accredited schools. Over the past two years, the school has received $430,000 from such organizations.
The second oldest undergraduate school of journalism in the United States, the UM school was founded in 1914 and first accredited in 1948. Accreditation is reviewed every six years. Of some 400 programs in the country, only 110 are accredited.
The site-visit team was led by Will Norton, dean of the University of Nebraska College of Journalism and Mass Communications. Joining him were Sandra Dickson, co-director of the Documentary Institute at the University of Florida; Claude Cookman, an assistant professor of photojournalism at the University of Indiana; and Don Flores, editor of the El Paso Times, representing working professionals.
Freedom Forum CEO to be Dean Stone Speaker
Freedom Forum Chairman and CEO Charles L. Overby will be the guest speaker at the April 7 Dean Stone Banquet held every year by the UM School of Journalism to award more than $70,000 in scholarships.
As head of the Freedom Forum, Overby oversees the groups efforts to protect free press and free speech around the world. With more than $1 billion in assets, the Freedom Forum is one of the largest foundations in the country. Overby is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and worked for Gannett Company as a reporter, editor and corporate executive for 16 years. He was named president and CEO of the Freedom Forum in 1989 and was named chairman and CEO in 1997.
Summer J-Camps planned for high school students, advisors
The School of Journalism will hold a summer camp July 5-8 for high school students. Visiting Professor Sherri Venema is organizing this summer's camp, called the Grizzly Journalism Camp, and expects about 50 students from around Montana to participate. The students will learn how to find news in their schools, and will cover topics that include sports writing, page design, photography, column writing, and web page design.
Grizzly Journalism Camp will cost the students about $175; they will stay in UM dorm rooms. The students' teachers will also be invited to help out in the classroom. Some of the School of Journalism faculty will teach classes. This summer the School of Journalism will also host a camp for high school media advisors from June 19-23. This camp is designed for teachers that are already doing advising and will count towards credits for those that are working towards a graduate degree.
Venema said that she would like to see the Grizzly Camp expanded in the next few years to two or more weeks and include more intensive training for the students.
Students win Chips Quinn internships
Two UM School of Journalism students have been awarded Chips Quinn internships this summer at the Wichita Eagle.
The Chips Quinn internship is a paid internship and includes a $1,000 scholarship for the students at the end of the summer. Graduate student Faith Price and undergraduate student Jason Begay have been assigned to the newspaper in Wichita, Kansas. Both students will spend a week in Washington, D.C. training at the Freedom Forum, and then will leave for their 10 to 12 week internship experience.
The Chips Quinn Scholars Program was established in 1991 in memory of John C. "Chips" Quinn, Jr., a Poughkeepsie, New York journalist, by his family and friends. The program seeks to bring more diversity into professional journalism.
Price is a member of the Wampanoag Indian Tribe and is in her first year at the Graduate School of Journalism. She will use the internship to further her web design skill by working on the Wichita Eagle web site. Begay, a Navajo, will use the internship to sharpen his reporting skills.
Two more UM School of Journalism students have placed in the Hearst Photojournalism competition. John Locher placed 12th, and Lemuel Price placed 14th, bringing the total number of photojournalism students that placed in this year's Hearst competition to four.
There are three photo competitions a year with the top four winners in each competition advancing to the final competition held in April. The finalists have a chance to win scholarships ranging from $500 to $1,000. The annual Hearst Journalism Awards Program is a competition between undergraduate students at the 107 member colleges and universities of the Association of Schools of Journalism and Mass Communications.
| TOP |
|