Teacher of the Year
Media Production, Management, and Technology lecturer Iman Zawahry was selected as the 2023–2024 UF Undergraduate Teacher of the Year. Zawahry is the third CJC faculty member to receive this honor in the past five years and the seventh faculty member to be recognized since the program launched in 2000.
$8 Million Gift
As part of the College’s commitment to bolstering state and local journalism, CJC received an $8 million gift from Nathan S. Collier to sustain the Collier Prize for State Government Accountability, create a new local journalism symposium and hire a full-time director (see below). It is the largest gift in the College’s history. Collier provided an initial gift to the College in 2019 to establish the Collier Prize, one of the largest journalism awards in the country.
Collier Prize Director
Veteran journalist Rick Hirsch was named the inaugural director of the Collier Prize for State Government Accountability. Hirsch, who has more than four decades of experience, will lead efforts to expand the scope and elevate the reputation of the prize and help share excellent state and local journalism across the country.
BEACON Emergency Alert System
WUFT-FM became the nation’s first installation of the BEACON (Broadcast Emergency Alerts and Communications Operations Network) emergency alert system. BEACON is a ground- breaking, AI-driven public safety service conceived of at CJC and developed with funding from the Florida Department of Emergency Management.
Bateman Competition Winner
A team of public relations students received first place in the prestigious 2024 Bateman Case Study Competition. Led by Public Relations Lecturer Christine Bucan, this is the second year in a row that CJC placed first in the competition.
Lifetime Research Award
Journalism Professor Emeritus Wayne Wanta received the 2024 Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication Paul J. Deutschmann Award for Excellence in Research. AEJMC’s highest research award recognizes a body of significant research over the course of an individual’s career. Wanta retired from CJC in 2023.
New Undergraduate Dean
Journalism Department Chair Ted Spiker was named the new associate dean for undergraduate affairs. After 10 years in the magazine industry, Spiker joined the Journalism Department in 2001 and became interim chair in 2014 and chair in 2015.
CNN Academy
Twelve CJC students participated in the CNN Academy, a five-day journalism training boot camp in Atlanta. CJC was one of eight colleges taking part in the first CNN Academy to be held in the U.S. Following the boot camp, 24 students from CJC, Georgia Tech and Howard University gathered in Abu Dhabi to take part in a special CNN Academy Newsroom Simulation.
Farewell
CJC said goodbye to a number of long-time faculty members who retired in 2024 or will retire at the end of the academic year, including: James Babanikos, John Freeman, Michael Leslie, Norm Lewis, Mindy McAdams, Ken Pemberton, Churchill Roberts, Steve Russell and Mike Weigold. We are very grateful for their immense contributions to the College.
