AEJMC Robert P. Knight Multicultural Recruitment Award
Linda Callahan: 2013 recipient of the award
By CSM Report
Dr. Linda Callahan, the immediate-past CSM president and a faculty member at North Carolina A&T State University, is this year’s recipient of the AEJMC Robert P. Knight Multicultural Recruitment Award.
According to the press release issued by AEJMC Scholastic Journalism Division, Callahan was selected to receive the award because she is a strong advocate for diversity in journalism. She has encouraged, advised, and supported under-represented students in journalism for more than three decades at five different universities.
In 1997 she founded a regional workshop for high school students in Greensboro in partnership with the North Carolina Scholastic Media Association. The workshop continues to this day with Callahan taking the lead every year, says the press release.
Monica Hill, director of NCSMA, nominated Callahan, because she believes Callahan is making an impact on young journalists through the regional workshop for high school students.
“Linda’s workshop is a highlight each year,” Hill said. “At no other workshops are students from a more rural region of the state treated to a morning salute from an award-winning university marching band and drumline. The entire drumline. How Linda manages this every year is beyond comprehension.”
Sue Farlow, a retired high school journalism teacher, mentioned, “Professor Callahan consistently goes beyond what is expected of her.” Farlow also said, “The workshops are well thought out and very engaging . . . She brings well known diverse media professionals to speak to the students, be on panels and present workshops.”
Gail Wiggins, interim chair, of the journalism and mass communication department at North Carolina A&T State University, supported the nomination. Callahan is an active member of AEJMC and recently received recognitions for outstanding services to the organization as well as its Commission on the Status of Minorities.
The Robert P. Knight Multicultural Recruitment Award, which is sponsored by the AEJMC Scholastic Journalism Division, recognizes any individual or organization that has made significant contributions to promoting diversity in high school or middle school media programs. The award is named after Robert P. Knight, a professor at the University of Missouri School of Journalism, who served as director of the Missouri Interscholastic Press Association from 1965 to 1992.
Callahan will receive the award at the AEJMC convention in Washington, D.C., Aug. 8-11.