skip to main content
School of Journalism and New Media
University of Mississippi

Posts Tagged ‘diversity’

Smith honored with News Leaders Association award for encouraging students of color in the field of journalism

Posted on: August 9th, 2022 by ldrucker

A photo of Marquita Smith outside.A University of Mississippi School of Journalism and New Media assistant dean has been named the 2022 recipient of the Barry Bingham Sr. Fellowship, awarded by the News Leaders Association.

Marquita Smith, Ed.D., assistant dean for graduate programs, won the $1,000 award given in recognition of an educator’s outstanding efforts to encourage students of color in the field of journalism. Smith’s achievements will be recognized at next year’s News Leaders Association Awards Ceremony.

According to the News Leaders Association website, “NLA provides support and training that empowers news leaders and emerging news leaders to build diverse, sustainable newsrooms that use fact-based information to inform and engage the communities they reflect and serve.”

The website reports that the Bingham Fellowship selection committee was particularly impressed by Smith’s career-long commitment to diversity from her days at Knight Ridder, McClatchy and Gannett to those in academia.

The graphic reads Congratulations Marquita Smith.

According to her School of Journalism and New Media bio, Smith has a background in journalism and worked in various newsrooms in Alabama, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi and Virginia for 16 years. Her last newsroom position was Virginia Beach bureau chief at The Virginian-Pilot.

In 2008, Smith went on leave from The Pilot to complete a Knight International Journalism Fellowship in Liberia. During her time in West Africa, she created a judicial and justice reporting network. Both networks continue to operate in the post-war country today. Smith, selected as a Fulbright Scholar in Ghana for the 2016-2017 academic year, is passionate about teaching and researching in West Africa.

Smith earned her doctorate from the University of Arkansas focusing on curriculum and instruction and faculty leadership. In her bio, she said she believes graduate education is a privilege and opportunity for students to gain outstanding communication and research skills.

To read the full story about Smith’s win, visit https://www.newsleaders.org/bingham-award-winner

School of Journalism and New Media leaders and students welcome MOST Conference visitors

Posted on: July 16th, 2018 by ldrucker

School of Journalism and New Media, Student Media and University of Mississippi Association of Black Journalists representatives spent Sunday evening, July 15, with hundreds of students on campus for the annual MOST Conference.

MOST, which stands for Mississippi Outreach to Scholastic Talent, brings top African-American high school students in the state to the UM campus each summer for workshops, networking opportunities, panel discussions, mentoring and more.

Participating were: Meek School Dean Will Norton; Assistant Dean Jennifer Simmons; Assistant Dean Patricia Thompson; Adjunct Instructor Bobby Steele; and DeAndria Turner, student manager of Rebel Radio and broadcast journalism major.

School of Journalism and New Media’s ‘It Starts with (Me)ek’ team wins a Silver Anvil Award

Posted on: June 9th, 2018 by ldrucker

A School of Journalism and New Media instructor and her 30-student team won the Silver Anvil, the most prestigious U.S. award in public relations, on June 7 in New York for It Starts with (Me)ek, a public relations campaign they created asking School of Journalism and New Media students to “just pause” before stereotyping others.

The award, given by the Public Relations Society of America, is considered to be the Oscar of the PR industry.

Actress and CBS Sunday Morning show contributor Nancy Giles, perhaps best known for her role on the TV show “China Beach,” served as emcee and presented the award to Senior Lecturer Robin Street, campaign chair.

The It Starts with (Me)ek campaign won a Silver Anvil award, considered to be the Oscar of the PR industry, for internal communications. Actress and CBS Sunday Morning show contributor Nancy Giles presented the award to Senior Lecturer Robin Street at a ceremony in New York on June 7. Accompanying Street at the ceremony were three of the 30 students who worked on the campaign. Pictured from left, Grace Miller, Giles, Street, Bianca Abney and Brittanee Wallace. Photo by Stan O’Dell.

Meek graduates Brittanee Wallace, Bianca Abney and Grace Miller, three of the 30 students who served on the ISWM committee, joined Street at the ceremony.

The week-long campaign consisted of 50 events, speakers and activities, all based on the message to “just pause” before judging people based solely on one factor such as their race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, disability, mental illness or other factor.

Like the Oscars, Silver Anvils are given in multiple categories. It Starts with (Me)ek won in the internal communications category for government or non-profit organizations.

The campaign has previously won awards from both the Public Relations Association of Mississippi and the Southern Public Relations Federation.

Street honored for making University of Mississippi more inclusive for LGBTQ students

Posted on: May 11th, 2018 by ldrucker

Robin Street, senior lecturer in journalism, has been recognized once again for her work to make the University of Mississippi more inclusive for all students.

The Allies Program recognized Street as the 2018 faculty recipient of the Vicki Mahan Ally of the Year Award. The award was created in 2015 to recognize the work of Vicki Mahan, who was retiring from the university. She created and ran the Allies Program for more than a decade.

The award recognizes individuals who have gone above and beyond the call of duty to make the university a welcoming, accepting, and inclusive place for LGBTQ students, faculty and staff.

Street, who organized and led a program last year called It Starts With MEek that promoted diversity and inclusivity, shares the award this year with Vice Chancellor Brandi Hephner Lebanc, the staff/administrator recipient.

Street is pictured with Kevin Cozart, operations coordinator, for the Sarah Isom Center for Women and Gender Studies.

UM PR students win top award from Southern PR Federation: Lantern award recognizes It Starts with (Me)ek campaign

Posted on: October 2nd, 2017 by ldrucker

A Meek School of Journalism and New Media campaign asking students to “just pause” before stereotyping others has won a top award from the Southern Public Relations Federation.

The Lantern award was presented in the internal communications category at the Southern Public Relations Federation conference in Tupelo Sept. 26. Awards are presented at three levels in multiple categories, and the Lantern is the highest level.

The winning campaign, It Starts with (Me)ek, was created and implemented by a team of 31 students led by Senior Lecturer Robin Street. Judges for the competition repeatedly praised the “great job” the team did.

ISWM was a week of speakers, programs and communications encouraging inclusion and respect while rejecting stereotypes based on race, gender, sexual orientation, disability, mental health, religion or other factors. UM alumnus Shepard Smith spoke at two of the events.

A Meek School anti-stereotyping campaign won a top honor, the Lantern award, from the Southern Public Relations Federation. Pictured here are some of the 31 Meek students who served on the campaign committee under the leadership of Senior Lecturer Robin Street, far right. Front, from left, IMC major Kaitlin Childress from Brandon and IMC graduate student Bianca Abney from Moss Point. Back, from left IMC majors Kendrick Pittman from Kosciusko and Zacchaeus McEwen from McComb, with journalism graduate student Chi Kalu from Nigeria. Photo by Stan O’Dell.

Student committee members enrolled in an integrated marketing communications course helped create the campaign. They met weekly to plan events, videos, communications, competitions and social media posts.

“Our students worked for months to plan and implement all the components of the campaign,” said Street, who taught the class. “They spent every Wednesday night in class and countless additional hours working on their individual tasks and assignments. I was so proud to see all their hard work and true dedication be recognized.”

Scott Fiene, assistant dean for curriculum and assessment and assistant professor, directs the IMC program at the Meek School. He attended the award ceremony with Street and several students.

“Our student team entered in the professional category,” Fiene said. “So they were judged, not by student criteria, but by professional standards. I noticed that they were the only students to win a professional award that night.  The award exemplifies how well all our faculty prepare our students for their careers in journalism, public relations and integrated marketing communications.”

For more information on the Meek School, visit meek.olemiss.edu.