“This vote of reaccreditation signals the high quality work produced in our Division of Journalism, said the School of Journalism and Graphic Communication Dean James Hawkins. “Kudos to Professor (Dorothy) Bland, the journalism faculty, staff and students.”
A team of journalists and media professionals visited the university in February. Phillip Dixon, a veteran journalist and former chair of the Journalism Department at Howard University, was the team chair. The site team report praised the division for engaged and enthusiastic students as well as “dedicated faculty committed to their own development and holding students to high standards of achievement.”
The team report said Bland, the journalism division director, has “strong leadership and management skills and a huge appetite for hard work.” The team report also gave the division high praise for “strong relationships with local media and mass communication professionals.”
The team report stated that PRodigy, the student-run public relations firm, has a “strong reputation for serving clients on campus and in the community.”
At the committee meeting in March, Dixon praised student media outlets – including the award-winning Famuan newspaper, Journey Magazine, FAMU TV20, WANM 90.5 and related websites – for covering stories related to the death of drum major Robert Champion Jr. “without fear or favor.”
FAMU journalism students have won about 20 journalism-related state, regional and national awards this semester. For example, Wandoo Makurdi took first place in the National Society of Professional Journalists Mark of Excellence Contest for her documentary on South Africa. Journey Magazine earned first place in both the “Best of the South” Contest from the Southeast Journalism Conference and the SPJ Region 3 Mark of Excellence Contest. Broadcast journalism students earned four first place awards in the Florida Associated Press Broadcasters Contest.
The FAMU Division of Journalism was the first journalism program at a historically black college or university to be nationally accredited by ACEJMC.