DRAKE UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF JOURNALISM AWARDED
$1 MILLION GRANT FROM MEREDITH

Meredith Corporation and the E.T. Meredith Family Foundation have awarded $1 million to Drake University's School of Journalism and Mass Communication with the majority of the funds going to enhance its award-winning magazine program.

The gift comes five years after the two entities made a similar award establishing a magazine center at the School, recently renamed the E.T. Meredith Center for Magazine Studies. The innovative program operates in an entrepreneurial spirit that is likely to become a prototype for other journalism programs across the nation.

The foundation's $500,000 gift brings its total endowment to the Center to $1 million.

The corporation's $500,000 grant will be used in part to launch a one-of-a-kind Meredith Apprenticeship program for journalism students.

Art Slusark, vice president of corporate communications at Meredith, says the corporation and Drake have had a long and mutually beneficial relationship. "The magazine sequence at Drake is one of the best in the nation," he says. "It draws students from all over the country. These students hold a particular interest in the type of service journalism that is a hallmark of Meredith."

The apprenticeship program is considered a break-through because it lengthens the time commitment of students from one semester to an entire academic year. It also adds a classroom component and provides for academic oversight.

Such a program fulfills the business needs of Meredith's editors and provides students an opportunity to become deeply immersed in magazine journalism, something that is difficult to do in only a few months, says Slusark.

He credits the vision of Charles Edwards, dean of the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, and Drake Professor Patricia Prijatel for the program's cutting edge format. "We challenged them to think out of the box, defy convention and push through a program that some might view as unorthodox," he says. :We knew this would be good for Meredith, good for Drake and, most importantly, great for the students."

Prijatel, the E.T. Meredith distinguished professor of journalism and director of the Center, says there are few publishing companies as supportive of a program as Meredith is of Drake's. "There's a marvelous synergy between Meredith Corporation and the School of Journalism. The apprenticeships take this support to a new level."

The program began this fall with five students at Meredith; it is expected to grow to from 8 to 12 apprentices when fully operational. The grant also provides for a similar partnership between news/Internet majors and the Des Moines Register.

Angela Renkoski, a Drake assistant professor of journalism, coordinates the magazine apprenticeships, which are paid positions. In addition to a weekly class in which students discuss on-the-job and management issues, she spends one day a week at Meredith acting as a resource and guide to both students and industry professionals.

"The more I'm there, the less the editors have to do," says Renkoski, who has 20 years experience in media work. "We want to keep the program flexible so we can fill editors' needs and adapt to students' strengths as well. But we have established a foundation of how the program can work, and it's working well."

Drake has long structured its journalism programs so that students go beyond the editorial and design experience to gain a solid understanding of the business side of publishing. In the senior capstone course, students not only create a magazine, but also are responsible for handling all advertising sales, marketing and distribution.

In addition, Drake journalism students have started seven different student-produced magazines in the last 11 years, including 515, a current title targeted to young adults. Last year, students also produced Connect Des Moines for the Annie E. Casey Foundation. An eighth new title, also for the Casey Foundation, is planned for the 2003-04 academic year. Those magazines, which have won numerous national awards, are now produced out of the Center.

But the E.T. Meredith Center for Magazine Studies is more than a publishing house. It also serves as a resource for student research.  Its archive of thousands of magazines is available for the research and exploration of current and historical issues in the industry.

Eventually, the Center's reach will extend beyond the School of Journalism, says Prijatel. For example, Drake's graphic design program weaves nicely with the publication design aspects of the Center and creates opportunities for both disciplines. "We have positioned the Center as an interdisciplinary unit that will ultimately connect the magazine sequence with other professional and liberal arts programs," she says.

The well-rounded experiences of an award-winning program have resulted in a doubling of enrollment in the magazine sequence, from 50 students in 1997 to approximately 100 today. The Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communication places Drake among the top 25 percent of journalism programs in the nation.

"We have a national reach," says Prijatel, "and we expect that to be enhanced with the new grant."

Many of those graduates hold prominent positions at Meredith, says Slusark. "We're pleased with the pipeline we've established with the school. We hope that the Meredith apprenticeships will be another point of difference for Drake in its quest to attract top students from across the country."

The Meredith Corporation grant will be awarded in $100,000 annual installments. In addition to the apprenticeships, the grant also provides funding for scholarships, magazine production, faculty development and technology enhancements.