Sad news and good news as awards program showcases the J-School at its best

The unsettling events of last week at Virginia Tech could happen on any college campus. Many faculty have read disturbing papers that raise concerns. We follow the process, calling counseling centers and urging students to make an appointment. But beyond that, unless we sense a clear and present danger the student is likely to harm himself/herself or others, that’s all we can do. Then we hope and pray.

On a much happier note, the J-School has had terrific success in various competitions and students have received numerous awards.

Our annual Awards Program on Saturday, April 14 was another stellar year for students. The awards, the scholarships, the internships were amazing. And while that program was beginning, the SPJ regional conference was wrapping up, but not before our students garnered even more accolades.

Congratulations to one and all, and a big thank you to Lori Anne Dickerson for her hard work in making the event, once again, a terrific day of celebration. Kudos also to Darcy Greene for her program design.

MSU winners of the SPJ Region 4 Mark of Excellence Awards:

General News Reporting • First Place: Claire Cummings, Michigan State University, “A second son lost”• Second Place: Claire Cummings, Michigan State University, “Protecting cash cows”
Feature Writing • First Place: Melissa Domsic, Michigan State University, “Portraits of Perseverance” • Second Place: Kristen M. Daum, Michigan State University, “Tailor made”
Editorial Cartooning • Second Place: Ryan W. Kimball, Michigan State University, “Cartoons to end 2006”
Magazine Non-Fiction Article • First Place: Yu-Ting Lin, Michigan State University, “Environmental Evangelicals” • Third Place: Carol Navarro and Mairin MacDonald, Michigan State University, “Who Owns the Water?”
Best Student Magazine • Third Place: Staff, Michigan State University, “EJ Magazine”

The Sixth Annual Neal Shine Ethics Lecture was a sad but memorable event with Neal’s recent passing. We paid tribute to him then listened enthralled as Nancy Youssef, McClatchy Baghdad Bureau Chief and Neal’s hand picked lecturer, described what life was like covering the ongoing civil war.

We will be interviewing the second of our two finalists for our Southeast Asia Muslin Studies position this week. At our faculty meeting on Friday we will make a decision on the candidates.

Some faculty will be going to school themselves May 9 & 10 as we train for web skills including shooting and editing video, using Sound Slides and other skills. I will be right there in training, learning from colleagues like Darcy Greene, Bonnie Bucqueroux and Serena Carpenter. Should be fun.