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UNC played host to a group of 12 of the country’s top journalism programs last week as part of an effort to revitalize the news business.

These programs were in town as part of the Carnegie-Knight Initiative, a national program intended to foster collaboration between 12 universities.

It also provides funding for eight of the schools to develop interdisciplinary multimedia projects on topics of emerging national importance and encourage innovation in the industry.

Last week’s forum positions UNC as a leader in changing journalism education. Involvement in the program opens up numerous possibilities for the school and its students, from innovative research projects to travel opportunities.

UNC became part of the program in July 2008, receiving a $250,000 grant to fund different aspects of the program.

UNC’s School of Journalism and Mass Communication is using the grant to expand global projects, develop relationships with the law school and business school and add new courses, said Jean Folkerts, the school’s dean.

Folkerts said the initiative benefits the school in a variety of ways.

“It allows us to look at how we approach things with new technology such as multimedia, deepen international relationships and expand curriculum,” she said.

Eight institutions, including UNC, have been named incubator universities. They will focus on investigating different topics for an overall project called “The American Tapestry: Exploring the Demographics of a Changing Nation.”

UNC’s component is called “Powering a Nation: The Quest for Energy in a Changing USA,” and explores energy use in America.

“The program is designed to create innovation in the media industry,” she said.

Four other universities have been named associate schools and send representatives to the incubator schools to contribute to their individual projects.

Jennifer Gallina, director of research administration at the school, said the initiative helps different aspects of the University work together.

“It’s designed to enhance collaboration with different areas in the school and other programs on campus,” she said. “We will be continuing a variety of interdisciplinary efforts that were started in the first year.”

These efforts include continuing to establish the center for media law and expanding collaborations with the Gillings School of Global Public Health and the School of Information and Library Science.

“Faculty are getting together to look at ways to grow these programs further, both with academic degrees and research,” Gallina said.

“The whole program is built around the idea of collaboration,” she said. “We want the journalism school to be a leader or participant in different programs on campus.”


Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu

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