Dear CoJMC Students,
Welcome back. And Happy New Year.
I hope you had a joyful holiday season and are excited to be back for the spring semester.
As you most likely know, the college has been enjoying great student success: Faiz Siddiqui won first place in the Hearst Intercollegiate Feature Writing Competition in fall, and Kaylee Everly has just won second place in the Photo News and Features Competition. Some thirty-seven students traveled with faculty to New York City to participate in the AWNY advertising competition and to visit with agencies in the Big Apple. And a group of sophomore students won second place nationally in the AT&T Campaign presentation in Dallas in December.
Also in December, students took home 11 Nebraska Anvil Awards, including six Awards of Merit, four Awards of Excellence, and the Best of Show Award. The award-winning work was produced by students in our PRSSA chapter, Jacht Club, and ADPR Campaigns course and is a reflection of the hard work all of our faculty and students put into our program. The work that was recognized included both in-class and out-of-class projects.
We sincerely hope you will contribute to and continue this trajectory of excellence. And we promise to help you achieve: Please feel welcome to ask any of us at any time for the help you need to realize your dreams and to achieve excellence.
You should know that the Student Advisory Board represents your interests to the college. We meet once a month, and SAB members let us know your concerns. SAB President Melissa Bakewell reported your concerns and suggestions to us from the Town Hall meeting in fall, among them:
• Students are concerned that no one is participating in News21 this year;
• CoJMC needs a photojournalism track or a minor;
• Advisors should have career-track plans for students through the organization of courses as well as through the most suitable minors for certain careers;
• CoJMC needs better communication with the Hixson-Lied where most of the skilled designers take classes;
• CoJMC needs to make events and lectures more available for distance-learning students and improve our streaming online potential;
• Photojournalism trip applications must be open to all who apply;
• Programs such as Jacht, NSAC and study abroad should not be capped. These opportunities were meant to be selective and encourage students to improve their skills and continue to apply;
• The Daily Nebraskan should be considered for course credit to encourage participation by CoJMC students; and
• Graduate students want classes specific to graduate students only, the ability to meet in classrooms and have detailed descriptions online when registering for courses.
I assure you that we, as a faculty, take your concerns seriously. We did not participate in News21 this year because of funding priorities. We are exploring the photojournalism curriculum with a view to expansion. We constantly liaise with Hixson-Lied and will continue to do so in your interest. We will make photojournalism trip applications open to everyone. We will consider all the issues presented to us.
If you would like to meet with me in person at any time—just to get acquainted or for other reasons—please feel welcome to schedule an appointment with me via Haley Hamel at hbush2@unl.edu. Or please feel welcome to attend the “Coffee’n’Donuts with the Dean” 10:30 – 11:30 a.m., Monday, Feb. 2 in the Freedom Forum. I plan to have “Coffee’n’Donuts” meetings on the first Monday of every month from 10:30, so if you cannot be there Monday, Feb. 2, I will look forward to seeing you some other time.
With every good wish for the semester ahead,
Maria B. Marron, Dean