OXFORD, Miss. – The Society of Professional Journalists has chosen
University of Mississippi journalism faculty member Kathleen Wickham to
receive the national David L. Eshelman Outstanding Campus Adviser Award.
As UM’s SPJ student chapter adviser, Wickham, associate professor of
journalism, has led the group to win Outstanding Student Chapter for
Region 12 in 2004, 2006 and 2007. Wickham is to be recognized Sept. 5
during a luncheon at the 2008 SPJ Convention & National Journalism
Conference in Atlanta.
“Dr. Wickham has devoted an amazing amount of energy to SPJ activities
and student membership over the years to the point that she is
practically synonymous with SPJ on this campus,” faculty colleague Joe
Atkins wrote in his nomination letter. “The bond that she enjoys with
students is obvious and inspirational.”
Wickham’s students agree with Atkins about that special bond. Both past and present students praised Wickham’s ability to get the best out of her students and pointed to her everlasting commitment to education.
“In my opinion, she is the perfect model for a SPJ chapter adviser,” SPJ student chapter president Ellen McClurkin wrote in her nomination letter.
“She is a highly dedicated professional who knows how to motivate her students to strive for excellence. Both in the lecture hall and in her capacity as SPJ adviser, Dr. Wickham works tirelessly to inform and educate her students,” McClurkin said.
As a member of SPJ since 1994, Wickham has devoted more than a decade of service to the organization. Upon hearing she was awarded with the Eshelman Award, Wickham said she will share the award with her students because their outstanding participation helped make the chapter a vital part of the journalism department.
“I have to give the credit to my students who shared my belief in the importance of an active SPJ chapter on campus,” Wickham said. “They are the ones who posted the flyers, supported the programs through their attendance and participation, entered the contests and paid the dues. Sometimes I was the engine with a dozen programming ideas, and other times I was the caboose trying to catch up with their ideas. It has been a wonderful ride either way.”
At Ole Miss, Wickham teaches several journalism classes, including Mass Media Ethics and Social Issues, Advanced Reporting, and Writing for the Media. Before becoming a professor, Wickham worked for such publications as The Star Ledger in Newark, N.J., and Gannett News Services in Arlington, Va. She has also freelanced for The New York Times, and SPJ’s member magazine Quill, among others. During the 2007-08 year, Wickham served as chairwoman of the newspaper division of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communications.
The Eshelman Award honors individuals who have done an outstanding job serving as an SPJ campus adviser and contributed to their chapters and the national organization over an extended period of time.
For more information about the Atlanta convention, visit http://www.spj.org/convention.asp .
To learn more about journalism education at Ole Miss, visit www.olemiss.edu/depts/journalism/ .