 |
Russian Educators and US Department of State representatives standing outside of the University bookstore and Tate Student Center at UGA. |
Six Russian Educators Got An Overview of Journalism And Mass Communication Education
The six journalism and mass communication educators from the east and west of Russia got an overview of the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication from the dean, a summary of accreditation standards from the associate dean, and an overview of the operation of the George Foster Peabody Awards from the Peabody Director.
During their brief visit to the Grady College on Thursday, the group also discussed how to teach media management with Telecommunication Department Head Dr. C. Ann Hollifield and a summary of research on journalism education from Dr. Lee B. Becker, who directs the Annual Surveys of Journalism & Mass Communication.
The journalism and mass communication educators were at Grady as part of the International Visitor Leadership Program of the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.
Four of the educators from Russia's far east were: Ms. Nadezhda Markovna Borisova, Department of Journalism at North Eastern Federal University, Yakutsk; Mr. Sergei Pavlovich Bulakh, Vladivostok Higher School of Television, Vladivostok State University of Economics and Service, Vladivostok; Mr. Viktor Alekseevich Burlakov, Department of Journalism and Publishing Business, Far Eastern Federal University, Vladivostok; and Ms. Anastasiia Alexandrovna Stepanenko, Journalism Department, Sakhalin State University, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk.
Also in the delegation were: Ms. Kamilla Renatovna Nigmatullina, School of Journalism and Communications, St. Petersburg University, St. Petersburg; and Mr. Sergey Sergeyevich Smirnov, Department of Media Theory and Economics, Moscow State University.
Dean Charles N. Davis welcomed the group to Grady, discussed the quality of the students enrolled at the College, and talked about the need for the college to examine different ways to organize itself in the future.
He said the Grady College is engaged in a major study to find out how to reorganize itself to accommodate student interests and the needs of the communication occupation. "Students want multiple skill sets," he said. "They want to hedge their bets" as they enter a changing labor market.
 |
Russian Educators and US Department of State representatives meeting with Dean Charles Davis of the Grady College. |
Dr. Alison Alexander, active in accrediting nationally, told the group that the decision by the College to be accredited by the Accrediting Council for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication requires a heavy investment but helps to distinguish the journalism and mass communication from others around the country.
Dr. Jeffery Jones told the group that the Peabody Awards program only focuses on one thing: quality. That distinguishes the Peabody Awards from others around the country.
The James M. Cox Jr. Center for International Mass Communication Training and Research, a unit of the Grady College, organized the program in the Grady College and hosted the group. Dr. Becker is the director of the Cox Center.
The six educators were midway through a three-week program when they traveled to Athens on Feb. 6. They were hosted in Georgia by the Georgia Council for International Visitors.
The State Department program was designed to introduce the educators to differing models of journalism education in the United States.
The journalism educators had spent time in Washington, D.C., and Tampa, Fla. before their visit to Georgia. The Georgia part of their stay included visits to the Carter Center and Clark Atlanta University as well as the University of Georgia.
After their stay in Atlanta, the delegation was to visit Denver and New York, before returning home to Russia.
