AEJMC Presidential Task Force on AEJMC’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI)

Serving the AEJMC Presidential Task Force on AEJMC’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI)
for the 2023 – 2024 term

Laura Castañeda
University of Southern California

Jerry Crawford
Virginia State University

George Daniels
University of Alabama

Melissa Greene-Blye
University of Kansas

Patrick Johnson
Marquette University

Teresa Mastin
Michigan State University

Mimi Perreault
University of South Florida

Nathian Rodriguez
San Diego State University

Bey-Ling Sha
California State University, Fullerton

Gabriel Tait
Ball State University

Elizabeth L. Toth
University of Maryland

<Appointed Committees

Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications

Mission Statement of The Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications (ACEJMC)

The Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications is dedicated to excellence and high standards in professional education in journalism and mass communications.  The Council endorses professional education that recognizes and incorporates technological advances, changing professional and economic practice, and public interests and demands.

The Council believes that students can best prepare for careers in journalism and mass communications by studying in accredited professional programs at colleges and universities.  The Council embraces the value of a broad, multidisciplinary curriculum that nurtures critical thinking, analytic reasoning and problem-solving skills that are the essential foundation for journalism and mass communications education.

The Council is committed to freedom of inquiry, freedom of expression and freedom of the press as indispensable values in a free society. It expects the professional education offered by accredited programs to encourage inquiry, dissent and free expression.

To serve this mission, the Council has established educational requirements and standards and provides a process of voluntary program review by professionals and educators, awarding accredited status to programs that meet its standards.  Through this process, the Council assures students, parents, journalism and mass communications professionals and the public that accredited programs meet rigorous standards for professional education.

The Council recognizes and safeguards the individual nature of each accredited program. It encourages educational innovation by programs in their efforts to meet accreditation requirements and standards to prepare students for careers in journalism and mass communication around the world.

— Revised and approved by the Accrediting Council Aug. 23, 2013
(ACEJMC Mission Statement is courtesy of the ACEJMC website)

Duties and Responsibilities of AEJMC representatives to the Accrediting Council:

• AEJMC Accrediting Council representatives are expected to attend BOTH the fall and spring meetings of the Council. The association pays for the travel expenses of its reps to attend each meeting.
• Each representative should issue a written report to the AEJMC Board of Directors following each meeting, or the reps may work together to file a single report. The reports may also be published in the AEJMC newsletter.
• The representatives should work with the Executive Director to schedule a session during the annual conference, as needed, so that members can be notified about, and discuss, current accrediting issues.
• Elected representatives serve three-year terms on the Council.

<Elected Standing Committees

AEJMC: Membership Vote Results

The vote on the proposed tiered membership dues structure was open from September 29 – October 12. The voting period has now closed and the tiered membership dues structure has passed!

AEJMC had 573 members vote with 421 yes votes (73.47%) and 152 no votes (26.53%).

The tier structure, including the new prices for membership dues, will go into effect on Monday, October 17.

Since the change in membership dues structure passed, members will need to approve the necessary amendments to the bylaws to support this fee structure change. They will receive an email next week with the proposed bylaw amendments and a link to an online discussion, along with additional information about the new tiered membership dues structure.

AEJMC President, Dr. Deb Aikat said: “We are gratified that AEJMC members have approved the new membership fees, which are more equitable and affordable for all.”

If you have any questions, please contact Amanda Caldwell, AEJMC Executive Director, at . Thank you!

COMJIG BROWN BAG on NEWS-ACADEMIC PARTNERSHIPS

Minorities and Communication Division’s 50th Anniversary

Congratulations to the Minorities and Communication Division (MACD) of AEJMC
for 50 years of leadership!

Click the image to enlarge

 MACD Presidential Proclamation from AEJMC 2021 President Dr. Tim Vos
on July 30, 2021, in observance of the division’s 50th Anniversary.

From the President

From the March 2021 issue of AEJMC News

Turning the Page with an Uncertain Future

Turning the page. The dominant meaning of this idiom is about creating a fresh start, putting the past behind us and moving willingly and purposefully into the future.

The theme for the 2021 AEJMC conference is turning the page – it seeks to capture the excitement, and perhaps some of the anxiousness, with which we meet an uncertain future.

We – AEJMC, our universities, media, our world – are potentially poised at a constitutive moment. Historical sociology thinks of constitutive moments as those rare times in history when a combination of events creates an impetus and opportunity for new paths forward. Once taken, those new paths can set us on a new course, with implications for years, and perhaps a generation or more, to come. It seems we are at one of those moments.

Our scholarship, teaching and learning have been disrupted by a combination of events in recent months and years. So too have the media and communication professions with which we engage and study.

We’ve experienced a pandemic, Black Lives Matter movement, economic upheaval, Me Too movement, the Trump presidency and more. Some of these we’ve welcomed; some we haven’t. Regardless, we’ve been given an opportunity to rethink taken for‐granted ways of doing things.

AEJMC is also facing these same events and also anticipating a new executive director for the first time in over two decades. This too opens a constitutive moment, an opportunity to turn the page in the century‐plus history of our association.

These are things for us to contemplate and discuss at the 2021 conference.

The breadth and depth of change is never predetermined in a constitutive moment. While some old paths are closed, others aren’t. In some cases, we may find our way back, for example, to pre‐pandemic ways of doing things. Hence, we need to assess carefully and move with willfulness and purpose to forge new paths.

For AEJMC a top priority must be changing those attitudes and structures that have limited our racial and gender diversity. One of the complaints I’ve heard about our conferences is that year after year it’s just the same people talking about the same things.

Here’s an opportunity to turn the page.

Likewise, we can think about how we foster a robust academic community. A significant part of the AEJMC board’s decision to hold a virtual conference again this year was because so many members have had travel and professional development funds cut or greatly reduced.

Perhaps this is a moment to recognize that we are suddenly – albeit likely temporarily – in the same position many would‐be colleagues have always been in. Scholars at many small colleges and universities, including many HBCUs, have rarely had the same resources as large research universities. Who has been excluded from our academic community? How might we be able to change that? How might we turn the page?

I also think that turning the page means more than just making a fresh start. A story consists of many pages and when we turn the page, we anticipate new developments in an ongoing story.

The story can’t be understood apart from the pages that came before. So, turning the page isn’t about forgetting the past; it’s about moving the story forward in new ways.

And so it is with AEJMC. The association has benefitted significantly from the capable leadership of Jennifer McGill. Her story is filled with page after page of accomplishments. It’s a story of a huge expansion in member services, careful financial stewardship and a steady administrative hand.

When we turn the page as she retires this year, we will be continuing and building on her legacy. It will also be a chance to pursue new ways of doing things.

I hope the 2021 AEJMC conference will be an occasion when we can embrace the constitutive moment we are seemingly in and can think creatively about turning the page.

By Tim P. Vos
2020-21 AEJMC President
Michigan State University

“From the President” is courtesy of AEJMC News.

AEJMC Mourns the Loss of a Beloved Former Staff Member

January 22, 2021

It is with great sadness that we mourn the loss of our friend and colleague Fred Williams, the heartbeat of the AEJMC conference for 31 years.

We each have our own unique Fred story, but we are all better for knowing him. He will be greatly remembered and beyond missed.

— The AEJMC Staff

Read the full obituary

A Special Message for Our Members

March 21, 2021

Dear AEJMC & ASJMC Community,

I have decided to begin enjoying my retirement a little earlier than previously planned.

I will transition from Executive Director to a support role on March 16, to begin retirement on April 1.
 
I have thoroughly enjoyed my time with AEJMC/ASJMC and this community, but it is now time for me to embrace the next chapter of my life. 
 
I leave the organization and you, its members, in the most capable hands.

Sincerely, 
Jennifer McGill
***************************************

Next Steps from your AEJMC/ASJMC Leadership:

Amanda Caldwell, the current Conference Manager, has been named by leadership as Interim Executive Director effective March 16. You may contact her anytime: .

Felicia Brown will continue to serve as the Assistant Director, among her other roles including Desktop Publisher and Council of Divisions Liaison. You may contact her anytime: .

The AEJMC/ASJMC Executive Director search launched in early February and applications are now under consideration.

The Associations have always benefitted from staff longevity and their leadership and staff are committed to a smooth transition. We remain here to continue to serve our members and the AEJMC/ASJMC Community.

Sincerely,
AEJMC/ASJMC Leadership

AEJMC Board of Directors:
http://www.aejmc.com/home/about/officers/board-of-directors/

ASJMC Executive Board:
http://www.asjmc.org/about/committees/executive.php

AEJMC/ASJMC Staff:
http://www.aejmc.com/home/about/office-team/

***************************************

January 21, 2021

Dear AEJMC/ASJMC members,

I wanted to share that I am retiring as AEJMC/ASJMC executive director on
September 30, 2021.

I first came to AEJMC/ASJMC in 1983 for one year before taking a leave for my
first child.  I returned to the associations in 1985 as an assistant and
then as executive director.

It has been amazing to see AEJMC/ASJMC grow through the years, and I know the
associations will continue to provide a place for members to learn, move
forward and become leaders in the years to come.

I want to thank all the members and officers for their support through
the years and for their work and dedication to make AEJMC/ASJMC successful.

I also want to thank the AEJMC/ASJMC staff through the years who have been
amazing to work with.  I commend their “outside the box” thinking which
has helped AEJMC/ASJMC react quickly to new ideas and the willingness to work
together for the success of the organizations.  It has truly been a great
team effort.

I am looking forward to travel, and, just maybe, I’ll write a book one of these
years.

Warm Regards,

Jennifer H. McGill

AEF’s Visiting Professor Program

Apply now to the AEF’s Visiting Professor Program!

The AEF invites you to apply to the Visiting Professor Program. The VPP immerses professors into the world of marketing and advertising, to inform your research and teaching, while extending your academic network within one week. Because of Covid-19, all sessions will be done via virtually.

Find out more by clicking here.

Qualified professors will participate in the VPP and learn from executives at Ogilvy, McCann, IBM and others. So, what are you waiting for?  Read more about the VPP and apply!

Application deadline is February 15, 2021!

Questions?
Sharon Hudson, VP, Program Manager
AEF

646-708-8114

< Calls and Nominations

IDL Fellows

Universities listed are at the time of graduation from the IDL program.

IDL Jennifer McGill Fellows 2023-24

1. MASUDUL BISWAS, Loyola University Maryland
2. BILL CASSIDY, Northern Illinois University
3. DEBORAH CHUNG, University of Kentucky
4. SYDNEY DILLARD, DePaul University
5. NATHANIEL FREDERICK II, Winthrop University
6. YOUNGAH LEE, Ball State University
7. REGINA LUTTRELL, Syracuse University
8. NATHIAN SHAE RODRIGUEZ, San Diego State University

IDL Jennifer McGill Fellows 2022-23

1. JAN LAUREN BOYLES, Iowa State University
2. KATIE FOSS, Middle Tennessee State University
3. HILARY FUSSELL SISCO, Quinnipiac University
4. CHERYL ANN LAMBERT, Kent State University
5. HOLLY OVERTON, Penn State University
6. JESSICA RETIS, University of Arizona
7. JAE-HWA SHIN, University of Southern Mississippi
8. GABRIEL B. TAIT, Ball State University

IDL Fellows 2020-21

1. Mia Long Anderson, Azusa Pacific University
2. David Brown, Temple University
3. Tamara Zellars Buck, Southeast Missouri State University
4. Moonhee Cho, University of Tennessee Knoxville
5. Celeste Gonzalez de Bustamante, University of Arizona
6. Miao Guo, Ball State University
7. Ammina Kothari, Rochester Institute
8. Gerry Lanosga, Indiana University
9. Ingrid Sturgis, Howard University
10. Bruno Takahashi, Michigan State University

IDL Fellows 2019-20

1. Adedayo (“Dayo”) Abah, Washington and Lee University
2. Saleem Alhabash, Michigan State University
3. Vanessa Bravo, Elon University
4. Rockell Brown Burton, Texas Southern University
5. Maria De Moya, DePaul University
6. Felicia McGhee, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
7. Suman Mishra, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
8. Jennifer Potter, Towson University
9. Gi Woong Yun, University of Nevada, Reno

IDL Fellows 2018-19

1. Margaretha Geertsema-Sligh, Butler University
2. Herman Howard, Angelo State University
3. Jeannine E. Relly, University of Arizona
4. Yong Volz, University of Missouri
5. Mia Moody-Ramirez, Baylor University
6. Vera Walker Hawkins, Texas Southern University
7. Uche Onyebadi, Texas Christian University
8. Jennifer Vardeman, University of Houston
9. Weiwu Zhang, Texas Tech University

IDL Fellows 2016-17

1. Linda Aldoory, University of Maryland
2. Laura Castaneda, University of Southern California
3. Jerry Crawford, University of Kansas
4. Calvin Hall, North Carolina Central University
5. Karie Hollerbach, Southeast Missouri State University
6. Maria Len-Rios, University of Georgia
7. Herb Lowe, University of Florida
8. Emily Metzgar, Indiana University

IDL Fellows 2015-16

1. Carolyn Bronstein, DePaul University
2. Jean Grow, Marquette University
3. Susan Keith, Rutgers University
4. Kathleen McElroy, Oklahoma State University
5. Gwyneth Mellinger, Xavier University
6. Donica Mensing, University of Nevada Reno
7. Marquita Smith, John Brown University
8. Alice Tait, Central Michigan University

Return to IDL