Undergraduate students - it's time to apply for School of Journalism and Mass Communications scholarships for the 2024-25 academic year! Last spring, the school offered over $860,000 in scholarships and awards to current and incoming students, and 93% of students who applied received at least one scholarship. All students pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism and Mass Communications are encouraged to apply. 

Apply here (Click the red Sign In button at the top, then log in with your KU online ID and password). You may be asked to complete a general questionnaire before moving to the School of Journalism and Mass Communications Undergraduate Scholarship Application.

The applications deadline is December 15, 2023. Recipients will be notified in March 2024.

Please join Dean Ann Brill for a State of the School address this Thursday, Nov. 2 from 4-5:30 p.m. in the Clarkson Gallery. Students, faculty and staff are all invited to attend. A reception will follow the presentation. 

A virtual option is available here for those unable to attend in-person. The passcode is 484336. 

Professor Yvonnes Chen is part of a team that recently received a nearly $3.7 million federal award to address chronic diseases in Southwest Kansas. This funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will support the following objectives:

1. Simplify healthy food choices
2. Provide safe and accessible physical activity
3. Streamline continuity of care in breastfeeding support.

Yvonnes Chen will be responsible for communication dissemination. The Principal Investigator of this grant is Dr. Vicki Collie-Akers, associate professor in the Department of Population Health in KU School of Medicine. Read the KU Today release here.

Associate Professor Teri Finneman co-organized the News Desert U2: Solutions conference last Friday. The event brought together professors from around the world and members of industry to create lists related to research, teaching and service and how journalism schools can better help address the news desert crisis. The full report will be published later this year in Editor and Publisher. Finneman and Assistant Professor Chris Etheridge also partnered to convince the AEJMC Newspaper and Online News Division to provide four $1,250 grants that professors can apply for to go toward a news desert crisis project.

Comments by Director of Professional Graduate Studies Matt Tidwell were featured in an article this week in Inc. regarding corporate communications in the wake of the current strife in the Middle East. Read the full story here.  

Justice Evelyn Wilson of the Kansas Supreme Court spoke to the Media Law and Ethics class taught by Professor Stephen Wolgast, Knight Chair in Audience & Community Engagement in News. Justice Wilson spoke about the role of judges and justices, and the relationship between a free press and open courts.

Environmental activist & writer Aileen Mioko Smith will be on campus this week to host two public events. She is here to share the stories of herself and her partner, LIFE magazine photojournalist, Eugene Smith. Smith is the founder and executive director of Kyoto-based Green Action, an anti-nuclear organization. Before starting Green Action Smith and her partner photographed the plight and fight for justice of Minamata disease victims in southern Japan.

Attend a film screening and conversation with Smith, as she tells her story of documenting the effects of mercury poisoning in Minamata, Japan this Wednesday, Nov. 1, from 6-9 PM at Liberty Hall. 

The University Daily Kansan is hosting its annual fall Housing Fair on Wednesday, Nov. 8 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the fourth floor of the Kansas Union. The event features information for students interested in learning about off-campus living options and free catered food.

New York Times publisher A.G. Sulzberger will visit the JMC School for a talk and Q&A on Wednesday, Nov. 1, at 3 p.m. in Stauffer-Flint 100. Everyone is invited to attend.

JMC student Gus Baylow calls the final play of KU's win over No. 6 Oklahoma on Saturday. 

Need help now? If you or someone you know is in crisis or has urgent needs, KU offers help 24/7. Visit the KU Counseling and Psychological Services website for more information. 

Job opportunities

Internship and student jobs

Lisa Wojcehowicz, senior project manager at Varsity, was a recent guest on the Cheers to Careers Podcast.  

Do you need help on your portfolio or other project? 

Check out all of the tutorials here or stop by the JBar (hours on the menu board) to get help. Labbies are available in the Resource Center as well. 

Adobe Max recordings: If you missed Adobe Max, you can still check out sessions online at: https://max.adobe.com/.

Hannah Wise, assistant managing editor for engagement & experimentation at the Kansas City Star, visited Assistant Professor Chris Etheridge's Audience Engagement class last Thursday to discuss the Star's Taylor Swift concert coverage and how it pulled in a new audience for the news organization. Wise has worked at a handful of major newspapers, including The New York Times and The Dallas Morning News. 

Photo courtesy of Chris Etheridge. 

Alumni job updates

Susan M. Hernandez died Oct. 13 at age 75. Read her obituary. 

Calendar

William Allen White School of Journalism & Mass Communications
journalism.ku.edu

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