Fri Aug 12 08:08:18 2005 Pacific Time

Five New Universities Asked to Submit Proposals for Curriculum
Enrichment as Part of Carnegie Corporation’s Initiative on Journalism

New York, Aug. 12 (AScribe Newswire) — Vartan Gregorian, president of
Carnegie Corporation of New York announced today that five additional
journalism schools at major research universities have been asked to
submit proposals for curriculum enrichment and to join an initiative
begun this year to revitalize journalism education. The five schools,
which will present proposals for the approval of the Corporation’s
board, are the College of Journalism and Communications, University of
Florida; Philip Merrill College of Journalism, University of Maryland;
Missouri School of Journalism, University of Missouri; S.I. Newhouse
School of Public Communications, Syracuse University; and the School
of Communication, University of Texas at Austin.

At the launch of the Carnegie-Knight Initiative on the Future of
Journalism Education in May 2005, the deans of leading journalism
schools at four of America’s top research universities-Berkeley,
Columbia, Northwestern and USC-in partnership with Carnegie
Corporation of New York, laid a foundation for developing their vision
of what a journalism school can be at an exemplary institution of
higher education. The goal of this curriculum enrichment is to
encourage experimentation within the journalism school and to forge a
greater integration with other departments in order to offer students
the riches of the larger university community. While training
tomorrow’s reporters, editors, writers and producers, the initiative
is focused on attracting and preparing top students to become the
journalism leaders of tomorrow, prepared for a more complex and
intellectually challenging world and news business.

“Schools of journalism at exemplary American research universities,
where the academic disciplines still coexist, are positioned to draw
upon the full intellectual and educational resources of the university
environment to help produce the skilled, responsible, expert,
knowledgeable and highly proficient journalism leaders that our
society-indeed the world-has need of, especially in these complex and
challenging times,” said Vartan Gregorian, president of Carnegie
Corporation. “Our democracy depends on journalism to keep its
institutions challenged and responsive to the public’s needs, and the
quality of the profession demands the best a university can offer.”

The Corporation, under Gregorian’s leadership, has made journalism
education, one of its key priorities and it will invest in the
initiative over the next three years. Schools invited to become part
of the initiative must reflect the following criteria: – Freestanding
journalism programs at research universities. – Schools with graduate
programs. – Schools with established deans. – Universities that have
the institutional and financial commitment of the president to support
this project.

The initiative is expected to include more journalism schools in
curriculum enrichment efforts by the fall of 2006. The five schools
currently submitting proposals for consideration will be able to
receive up to $250,000 for two years for expanding, and developing
specific courses that offer students a deeper understanding of issues,
content and context. The university must agree to underwrite the third
year of the enrichment program.

“A key feature of this curriculum enrichment focus is to offer
students a deep and multi-layered exploration of complex subjects like
history, politics, classics and philosophy that will undergird their
journalistic skills,” said Susan King, vice president, public affairs
at the Corporation and national director of the Carnegie- Knight
Initiative on the Future of Journalism Education. “The Corporation
hopes to encourages journalism schools to go beyond their current
boundaries-to be expansive about the kind of courses and information
their students should absorb while attempting to raise the profile of
journalism education and its place within the university.”

The five universities announced today will not be part of a second
element of the Carnegie-Knight Initiative on the Future of Journalism
Education: News 21 Incubators, which are annual national investigative
reporting projects overseen by campus professors and distributed
nationally through both traditional and innovative media. The
invitation to submit curriculum enrichment proposals likewise does not
convey immediate membership in the third part of the Initiative: The
Carnegie-Knight Task Force, which is focusing on research and creating
a platform for educators to speak on policy and journalism education
issues. The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation is partnering with
Carnegie Corporation of New York in supporting both News 21 and The
Carnegie-Knight Task Force. Information about the Initiative can be
found on the Corporation’s web site, and on the
Knight Foundation’s web site,

Carnegie Corporation of New York was created by Andrew Carnegie in
1911 to promote “the advancement and diffusion of knowledge and
understanding.” As a grantmaking foundation, the corporation seeks to
carry out Carnegie’s vision of philanthropy, which he said should aim
“to do real and permanent good in the world.” The Corporation’s
capital fund, originally donated at a value of about $135 million, had
a market value of $1.9 billion on September 30, 2004.

The Corporation awards grants totaling more than $80 million a year in
the areas of education, international peace and security,
international development and strengthening U.S. democracy.

Contact Information:
Carnegie Corporation of New York Office of Public Affairs 212-207-6273