Not that we aren’t watching with anticipation as the Schoonover Center for Communication is nearing completion for an August move-in. Yes, Schoonover is quite a sight to behold, and holds much promise.

I was thinking about these matters when I wrote the following paragraphs for a column in our alumni newsletter. The same column will appear more or less word-for-word in the next issue of the Ohio Journalist magazine and in a special 90th anniversary magazine.

So many reasons make this an historic year for the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism. We’re celebrating 90 years of journalism education at Ohio University, which obviously is remarkable in its own right. But in many ways, such an anniversary is just an arbitrary number that happens to end in zero. Still, the nine in front of that zero means we’ve been around a long, long time, doing what we do and what our predecessors did: Teach students how to do journalism at the highest level.

As you might expect, we’ve celebrated our 90 year history this year, giving shout-outs to some of the giants: George Starr Lasher, L.J. Hortin, John R. Wilhelm, and the like. But I actually think the more historic aspects of this year have more to do with what’s happening in the here and now:

• This is the first year we’ve been on semesters since the late 1960s.

• It’s the first year of our new two-track curriculum.

• And it is our last year to occupy Scripps Hall.

Much has been written and said about our transition to semesters, our new curriculum, and our move into a soon-to-be refurbished “Old Baker Center” — let’s agree to call it by its new moniker: Schoonover Center for Communication. I still hear the occasional whimper (especially from alumni) about our move from Scripps Hall, as if we are being evicted and thrown out onto Court Street. Let me try to frame the move another way: 2012-13 is our last year of being one of several isolated outposts of the Scripps College of Communication.

When I joined the faculty in 1987, the journalism school had just moved into Scripps Hall. And for the most part, it hasn’t lost any of its luster in the 26+ years we’ve occupied it. But in some ways, we’ve been an island. The same can be said for just about all of the schools in the College of Communication. The only difference is that Scripps Hall is posh, even swanky, which no doubt has fed feelings of great pride in the school. But sometimes that swagger was perceived as arrogance by others across the campus and in our own college.

Don’t get me wrong, I am enormously proud of the school, including its history, our current students, faculty, and alumni. We share an important bond in being associated with the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism. But I do believe that our students and faculty will only benefit from working with other students and faculty in the Scripps College of Communication. Moving into the Schoonover Center for Communication will help us realize these benefits in meaningful, important ways. Indeed, the times call for such integration. And at various times in the 90 year history of the school, we’ve been housed with other programs on campus, at one time with offices in Copeland Hall, RTVC, and the long-since demolished Ewing Hall.

But beginning in the mid-1970s when the school moved into Lasher Hall, where it remained until the 1986 move to Scripps Hall, we’ve stood alone. Perhaps during that forty year span we were well-served by this geographic reality. And certainly, “Fortress Scripps” has been a marvelous, even magical home. But the faculty is looking forward to the change, which will result in colleagues from all the other schools in our college being just down the hall or up the staircase (or elevator).

Scripps Hall will have many special memories. To remind us of the justifiable pride we all have felt in our Scripps Hall “home,” we’ll hang a panoramic photo of the building and adjoining amphitheater in the entryway to our 2nd floor digs in the Schoonover Center. But now it’s time to move — across campus, and into our new world that will bring us closer to the other disciplines in the Scripps College of Communication. And yes, it’s historic.

On Friday, April 26 from 5 to 6:30 p.m., we’re holding a Farewell to Scripps Hall event. It’s a celebration of all the goodness that Scripps Hall has wrought for journalism education at Ohio University. The many, many fond memories of learning and teaching, advising and consulting, collaborating and late-night meeting, yes, all of the above. We’ll have music, refreshments, and the beautiful panoramic photo taken by OU photographer Ben Siegel, ready to sign by students, alumni, faculty, and friends.

Soon enough the students will head home — the seniors to start new lives, the others to do internships. Faculty will begin packing up their offices in earnest, and then we’ll move.

Farewell, Scripps Hall. We promise to visit often.

The Mark of Excellence awards honor the best in student journalism. Students may enter their work published or broadcast in campus and community media from the previous year.

SPJ includes 12 regions. Region 4 includes Michigan, Ohio, West Virginia and western Pennsylvania. This year, Region 4 students entered 450 examples of their best work, and more than 100 awards were presented.

All first-place winners will automatically advance to the national Mark of Excellence awards to compete with winners from the 11 other regions. The national award winners will be announced this summer.

Southeast Ohio magazine scored a real coup by taking first place in the best overall student magazine category from Kent State, which has owned that category the past two decades with its magazines The Burr and Fusion.

NEWSPAPERS
In-Depth Reporting (Large)
Third Place: “Underage Drinking” by Alex Stuckey

Feature Writing (Large)
Second Place: “Excuse me, sir, I mustache you about your beard” by Allan Smith, Ohio University
Third Place: “Clearing the smoke around hookah” by Lindsay Friedman

Sports Writing (Large)
Third Place: “Beyond Disability” by Lindsay Friedman

General Column Writing (Large)
First Place: Rebecca McKinsey
Second Place: Joe Fox

MAGAZINE:
Best Student Magazine
First Place: Southeast Ohio Magazine

PHOTOGRAPHY:
Feature Photography (Large)
Second Place: “Enduring Spring: Nathan’s Fight” by Daniel Owen

TELEVISION:
Television General News Reporting
First Place: “Voice of the Voters: Ohio University” by Sandhya Kambhampati, Keara Vickers and Seaira Christian-Daniels

Television In-Depth Reporting
First Place: “Researchers Investigate Links Between Fracking And Water Contamination” by Taylor Mirfendereski

ONLINE:
Online In-Depth Reporting (Large)
Third Place: “Lebanon’s pile of corruption and years of neglect” by Kaylyn R. Hlavaty, Ohio University

Here’s the language from the foundation’s press release:

Betzner is a junior journalism and economics double major pursuing a certificate in East Asian studies at Ohio University. After returning from Japan, he will intern at News Radio 1020 KDKA in Pittsburgh. He has completed internships with the Observer-Reporter Newspaper and WJPA 95.3 FM/1450 AM in his hometown of Washington, Pa.

[Read the full release]

Last summer Betzner took part in the school’s study abroad program in Leipzig, Germany.

Betzner and Sue Porter, Scripps Howard Foundation VP for Education Programs and Events, at our recent awards banquet.

If you’ve been following baseball news lately, you probably know that he’s already received the J.G. Spink Award, which means he’ll be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in July.

Hagen spent his day back on campus talking with faculty and students about receiving the Hall of Fame recognition, as well as his career. He then attended the school’s annual awards banquet, where I presented him the Hortin award.

Here’s an interview in which he talks about his decision to attend Ohio University, his student days, how he got his “big break” (with the help of another Postie), and what he thinks it takes to get into the business today (spoiler alert: hard work).

Ritter Collett (BSJ ’42) is the only other graduate of the school to be inducted into the Hall of Fame (in 1991).

If you’re already familiar with the chapter’s activities, you’ll agree that there are numerous reasons to shine the spot light on these students.

Beyond the Basics

This past weekend, our PRSSA chapter hosted one of 10 regional conferences across the nation, attracting 100+ students from six states. Please note: only ten universities are selected each year to host a regional conference. Kudos to chapter president Allison Jordan and her team.

The conference (“Beyond the Basics”) generated 400+ Twitter mentions the day of the event and gained National attention through the PRSSA National social media channels.

“I couldn’t be more proud of our chapter for hosting such a large-scale event,” according to Jordan. “It was a great opportunity for our members to showcase the incredible things being accomplished at Scripps to a national audience.”

Student Organization of the Year

At last night’s Scripps College Celebration, Dean Scott Titsworth recognized PRSSA as the Student Organization of the Year for the college. For this honor, the chapter picked up a check for $1000.

The contest was judged by the dean’s Advisory Council, which noted that PRSSA’s close association with working professionals was exactly what they believe is needed for student success in our field. I couldn’t agree more.

And just for good measure, members of the chapter are headed to New York City today for a major networking experience. Big Apple, watch out! (Follow the chapter on Twitter @ScrippsPRSSA.)

Sandhya Kambhampati, Laura Scheer, Kelly Gifford, Rebecca McKinsey, Brandon Carte, and Joe Fox joined our chief data prof, Dr. Aimee Edmondson at the 2013 CAR Conference in Louisville, Kentucky, an annual event presented by Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE) and the National Institute of Computer-Assisted Reporting (NICAR).

Our new data-heads delved into the latest advances in data visualization, online mapping, spreadsheets and databases with the country’s leading investigative journalists. Prepare to be dazzled.

This week he was back on campus to talk in Prof. Kevin Grieves’ travel writing capstone course. While he was here he talked with students in magazine courses as well as the SPJ chapter. In this interview, Maxa talks about coming to study journalism at Ohio University in the 1960s and early ’70s, as well as his career, beginning at The Washington Post.

For more, listen to an interview Tom Hodson of WOUB did with Maxa.

Alumni currently working as magazine editors, freelance journalists and public relations professionals will be participating.

Gwen Ifill’s keynote address: “Why Journalism Isn’t Dead.”

Ifill interview with WOUB’s Tom Hodson.

Symposium speakers reflect on why journalism still matters.

Audio links to presentations:

Abrahm Lustgarten

Keith Jenkins

Michel du Cille

It’s been an annual event for the past eleven years, and underscores the importance of the “cloud” that is the network of our alumni. Our Society of Alumni and Friends organizes the annual event, which includes a keynote speaker (Allie LaForce, BSJ ’11), and “senior” alumnus (Andy Alexander, BSJ ’72), and scores of panelists providing tips on their special areas of interest — breaking news, feature writing, broadcast news, and strategic communication.

See photos of the event: