School of Journalism to Recognize 499 Graduates at Spring Commencement Ceremonies

Columbia, Mo. (May 9, 2008) -- The Missouri School of Journalism will recognize its 499 May and August graduates during commencement ceremonies at 2 p.m., Friday, May 16, at Mizzou Arena. Family and friends of the graduates do not need tickets to attend. Seating will be open.

This year's commencement takes place during the School's centennial year. Special speakers for the ceremony include David G. Wasinger, University of Missouri Board of Curators member; Gary D. Forsee, University of Missouri president; and Brady J. Deaton, University of Missouri chancellor. The Missouri School of Journalism was founded on Sept. 14, 1908, as the world's first school of journalism. One year later, Dean Walter Williams awarded the first degree in journalism to Charles Arnold. The School will celebrate its centennial on Sept. 10-12 with the opening of the Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute, the advanced studies center for 21st-century journalism.

Graduate degrees will be awarded to 103 students, including 12 doctoral candidates and 91 master's recipients. The class includes seven graduates of the online master's program. The School first made its online journalism program available in the fall of 2001 with two degree offerings, strategic communication and media management. Since then, 15 students have graduated from the program, which enrolls more than 60 students annually.

Of the 396 undergraduate candidates, 14 studied convergence journalism; 92, magazine journalism; 54, newspaper journalism; 24, photojournalism; 75, radio-television journalism; 136, strategic communication; and one studied agricultural journalism.

This year's graduating class includes 23 Walter Williams Scholars. The program, created in 2004 in honor of the School's founding dean, recognizes the highest-achieving incoming journalism students at Missouri. To be considered for the program, applicants must earn an ACT score of at least a 33 (1460 on the SAT). Graduating Walter Williams Scholars will wear a red honor cord with their academic regalia.

Overall, 140 graduating seniors, or 35 percent of the class, will be recognized with Latin honors. These students have at least a 3.5 grade point average for their last 60 graded credit hours.

The top 10 percent of the School's graduates will be inducted into Kappa Tau Alpha, a journalism honor society founded at the Missouri School of Journalism in 1910 with the goal of uniting students of exceptional achievement from the nation's leading schools of journalism and mass communication. The ceremony and reception for the 43 inductees will be held in the morning prior to the May 16 graduation ceremony from 10:30 a.m. to noon in the Neff Hall student lounge.

Ken Paulson, BJ '75

Nathan Birt

Jeremy Maskel

The alumnus speaker will be Ken Paulson, BJ '75, editor and senior vice president of USA TODAY and USATODAY.com. For the past 30 years, Paulson has drawn on his background as both a journalist and lawyer, serving as the editor or managing editor of newspapers in five different states and as the executive director of the First Amendment Center at Vanderbilt University. A pioneer in online newspaper content, Paulson launched online newspaper editions in Florida and New York in 1993.

Paulson is widely known for his efforts to inform and educate Americans about First Amendment freedoms and as a strong voice for tougher confidential sourcing policies and ethics guidelines in America's newsrooms. He was the host of the Emmy-nominated PBS program "Speaking Freely" that spanned more than five seasons and 60 PBS markets nationwide. Paulson is also the creator and author of "Freedom Sings," a multimedia stage show that highlights the First Amendment through three centuries of banned and censored music in America. He will co-host "Freedom Sings" when it opens the upcoming centennial/dedication celebration of the School and Reynolds Journalism Institute on Wednesday, Sept. 10, at Mizzou Arena.

As the chair of the American Society of Newspaper Editors' (ASNE) First Amendment committee, Paulson founded and oversees The Liberty Tree Initiative, a new nationwide campaign to build nonpartisan support for First Amendment freedoms. He also serves on the board of directors for ASNE. In 2007, Paulson was named a Fellow of the Society of Professional Journalists, the highest honor bestowed by SPJ. This same year the American Press Institute honored him with the API Lifetime Service Award.

Paulson has earned two degrees: a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Missouri and a law degree from the University of Illinois.

The Master of Ceremonies will be Jeremy Maskel, who will graduate with a major in radio-television news and a minor in political science. Maskel has been actively involved with KOMU-TV, several honor organizations and Mizzou Recreation Services. He also served as a speech and debate coach for local high schools. Originally from Apple Valley, Minn., Maskel has interned at FOX9 in Minneapolis and at KRCG-TV in Jefferson City, Mo. He plans to work as a reporter after graduation.

Nathan Birt, a newspaper journalism and political science double major, will serve as the student graduation speaker. Originally from Longmont, Colo., Birt has worked with journalists at Adventure Sports Magazine, the Boulder (Colo.) Daily Camera, the Missouri Press Association, the Detroit Free Press and the Columbia Missourian. He was named "Intern of the Year" at the Detroit Free Press, where he was a 2007 Dow Jones Newspaper Fund intern. Birt has more recently served the Columbia Missourian as a wire editor and has continued to work part time as Web producer for the Detroit Free Press. This fall, Birt will begin the School's five-year master's program and focus in online journalism.

All graduates will receive a copy of the "Class Tribute," a booklet in which seniors, their families and faculty had the opportunity to make a gift in honor of their loved ones and to thank all those who made their success possible. Gifts to the 2008 tribute - in increments of $20.08 - raised $2,211.36 for the Missouri Journalism development fund.

Further information about the commencement ceremonies is available from the MU Commencement Web site. Paulson and Birt's speeches will be available on the School's Web site after commencement.

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