The Arkansas Tech University chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists was named a 2023 national finalist for outstanding campus program of the year.
The recognition is related to the chapter’s efforts to improve media literacy among students at Dardanelle High School.
ATU students made presentations on the topic of media literacy to two digital marketing classes taught by Ashley Turney during the fall 2022 semester. The Dardanelle students subsequently participated in a competition that challenged them to create a written or visual project about media literacy and its influence in their lives.
This is the second consecutive year the ATU SPJ chapter has earned commendation in the outstanding campus program of the year awards category.
ATU students and faculty earned the 2022 SPJ campus program of the year award in recognition of ATU Journalism Week 2022. The program featured an interactive event with freshman-level students in the ATU Department of Communication and Media Studies, a diversity panel, a social event for SPJ members, tours of the ATU television and radio studios and a portrait unveiling in memory of Anthony Caton, who served on the ATU journalism faculty from 2004-21 and was department head at the time of his retirement in May 2021.
