Office Changes
The Journalism and Public Communications administrative offices are now located in PSB 203. The student lounge and Broady computer lab are located downstairs in PSB 155.
Associate Professor Edgar Blatchford on leave for 2010-11
Associate Professor Edgar Blatchford is on leave for the academic year 2010-2011. If you are his advisee, you can seek advising from other JPC faculty this year.
Change in UAA Add/Drop Policy
The policy for adding and dropping classes has been changed for Fall 2010. Students will have until Sept. 3, 2010 to add courses or to drop them for a full refund. The fifty percent refund period has been removed. For more information on deadlines click here.
UAA’s Northern Light Wins National Award
11/24/09
UAA's weekly campus newspaper, The Northern Light, edged out more than 200 national competitors to win one of the oldest and most prestigious awards in college journalism, the Pacemaker.
Executive Editor Suzanna Caldwell says she's excited and honored, especially since the award goes for overall excellence, not just for the work of one or two individuals.
The paper was chosen to receive an Associated Collegiate Press Pacemaker award in the four-year university, non-daily newspaper category. Judges from the Poynter Institute, a school dedicated to teaching and inspiring journalists, based winners on coverage and content, evidence of in-depth reporting, quality of writing, leadership on the opinion page, and overall design.
The Pacemaker was first awarded in 1927. This is the first time The Northern Light, has been selected as a Pacemaker, though it was named as a finalist in 2007. The Northern Light has been serving the campus and the community since September 1988. It has a circulation of 5,000, making it the fifth largest newspaper in Alaska.
It's distributed both on and off campus and is continually transmitted on the Web. Unlike many student newspapers, no outside professionals assist in production. The staff exercises full editorial control of content, operations and publishing. Editor Caldwell says she hopes to expand the paper's coverage to more big picture stories in the future, while maintaining a focus on ‚the daily happenings of the UAA community.
Former Editor Gretchen Weiss says the hands-on training the newspaper offers student journalists is invaluable. I never knew such a small group of people could produce so much and still maintain high quality. Weiss cited production of three bonus special sections, including the first ever Commencement Guide, as an example of the hard work and passion of the staff.
Paola Banchero, JPC Professor and media adviser, says she's thrilled with the students and their dedication to journalism. She attributes winning this year's award to a consistent level of interest and desire on the part of the staff to make The Northern Light an important voice for the community.