Four Journalism Faculty Awarded Hearst Fellowship Grants

Ryan Famuliner, Keith Greenwood, Laura Johnston, Jeimmie Nevalga

Four University of Missouri Journalism faculty have been selected to receive a William Randolph Hearst Faculty Fellowship grant. Clockwise from top-left, Ryan Famuliner, Keith Greenwood, Jeimmie Nevalga and Laura Johnston will received supplemental support as they work to enhance the Missouri Method, the J-School’s foundational approach to learning.

The Two-Year, $150,000 Grant Funds Faculty Salary Supplements and Support for Research

Columbia, Mo. (June 27, 2018) — Four University of Missouri Journalism faculty have been selected to receive a William Randolph Hearst Faculty Fellowship grant. The fellowships provide salary enhancement and program and research funding.

The Hearst Faculty Fellowships were established in 2017 at the Missouri School of Journalism by the William Randolph Hearst Foundation. The fellowships are part of a two-year grant that the School received to help support initiatives stemming from the School’s strategic plan.

“The Missouri School of Journalism faculty have a strong history of integrating new technologies and platforms into the School’s curriculum,” said David Kurpius, dean of the school. “The Hearst Faculty Fellowships will provide support to faculty who are helping to build on the school’s foundation – the time-tested, hands-on learning laboratories that we call the Missouri Method – and help shape our professions for the years to come.”

The four faculty to receive fellowships are:

  • Ryan Famuliner (BJ ’07), assistant professor and news director at KBIA-FM, will be focused on gathering information on newsrooms of the future and developing a model for bringing the Missouri Method media outlets (KBIA-FM, KOMU-TV, Columbia Missourian, Vox Magazine, Missouri Business Alert, and agencies MOJO Ad and AdZou) into one, cooperative single newsroom. He is an award-winning journalist who trains students throughout the school to report and produce in the KBIA newsroom. His students have won dozens of professional awards for their work under his guidance, including national Edward R. Murrow and Sigma Delta Chi Awards.
  • Keith Greenwood (PhD ’06), associate professor, will be working on development and implementation of curriculum in the master’s program. In particular, his focus will be on online courses and instruction that build on the time-tested Missouri Method and prepare students to work and launch successful careers in community-facing newsrooms and agencies. Greenwood teaches courses in photojournalism history, photography’s role in society and multimedia applications for photojournalism. In the online program, he teaches research methods and an introductory seminar course. His research interests include photojournalism history and the influences that determine depictions of subjects in photographs.
  • Laura Johnston (BJ ’95, MA ’11), associate professor, will focus on engaging high school journalism teachers in an effort to strengthen the connection between youth journalism, colleges and the profession. Johnston is the senior news editor for the Columbia Missourian, where her work is focused on online production. Before joining the Missourian staff, she worked as a reporter and editor for Rust Communications in Cape Girardeau, Mo.
  • Jeimmie Nevalga (BJ ’00), associate professor and supervising producer at KOMU-TV 8, will work with faculty, staff and students to build an inclusive environment. The goal is to help the School’s media outlets KBIA-FM, KOMU-TV, Columbia Missourian, VOX Magazine, Missouri Business Alert, and agencies MOJO Ad and AdZou) produce authentic narratives that reflect a person’s lived experiences. Currently, Nevalga leads the School’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee. She has more than 10 years of experience producing traditional and non-traditional newscasts.

About Hearst Foundations

The Hearst Foundations are national philanthropic resources for organizations working in the fields of culture, education, health and social services. The Hearst Foundation, Inc. was founded by William Randolph Hearst in 1945. In 1948, Hearst established the California Charities Foundations, later renamed The William Randolph Hearst Foundation. Both Foundations are guided by the same charitable mission, which reflects the philanthropic interests of their founder.

Updated: November 4, 2020

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