With administrators, faculty and other invited guests in attendance, the School of Journalism officially unveiled their state-of-the-art newsroom on Oct. 2.
University President Shirley Strum Kenny addressed the crowd, saying that it was more than ‘appropriate that we have the newsroom of the future, because we certainly have the journalism school of the future.’
Howard Schneider, dean of the new school, opened the ceremony by welcoming everyone and extending his thanks to several companies and foundations and departments that have contributed to the construction and furnishing of the new newsroom, which was designed by the St. Louis-based Lawrence Group.
The room itself features 18 workstations, each with dual-display capabilities courtesy of Apple Inc. The 18 workstations was a strategic decision by the school, said new Associate Dean Marcy McGinnis, who explained that 18 was the exact cutoff for schools looking to be accredited as professional journalism programs.
Jennifer Carlino confirmed that accreditation with the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications (ACEJMC) was in the school of journalism’s future. But the process, according to Carlino, wouldn’t be started for several more years.
In the meantime, the school of journalism will continue to serve the state of New York as the only public journalism school in the SUNY system. President Kenny proclaimed that as a public institution ‘we don’t have money for mediocre,’ and called the new journalism program a 12-year dream realized.
The school of journalism is entering just its second full year at Stony Brook University, and already the program has received praise from journalism professionals like the New York Times.
President Kenny credits Schneider and the rest of the journalism staff for the immediate success, noting that in just one year they were able ‘to bring in’hellip;$2.25 million for [the journalism] program.’
A lot of emphasis was given to the quality of the technology that has been placed at the disposal of the faculty and students in the school of journalism. Dean Schneider thanked Sony and Apple, who both had representatives present at the ceremony, for their partnerships. Sony supplied the cameras that will be used in the broadcast journalism classes, and Apple has supplied what Schneider called ‘the most competitive technology in the country,’ including the latest software like Final Cut Pro as well as the computers themselves.
But the technology is just a tool, Schneider reminded the crowd. ‘It’s not really about the technology; Journalism is about telling the truth and learning about how to get to the bottom of stories’
President Kenny agreed, talking specifically about the one of a kind News Literacy course offered to all students at SBU. ‘We have got to teach all of our students to be critical readers.’
And the school of journalism may not have all that far to go. With a new newsroom and national attention, President Kenny’s assessment of the program is rightfully optimistic;
‘we are starting at the top,’ she says.