Dr. David T.Z. Mindich of St. Michael’s College in Colchester, Vt. has been named the inaugural winner of the “New England Journalism Educator of the Year Award” by the New England Newspaper & Press Association.
NENPA Executive Director Dan Cotter made the announcement today. He said Mindich will receive the award and speak during the awards luncheon at the annual NENPA Fall conference on Thursday, Oct. 6 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Natick, Mass.
“Over the past 15 years Dr. Mindich has done an outstanding job in helping prepare multi-talented journalists to handle all that is expected of graduates in the rapidly changing world of newspapers and media,” Cotter said.
Cotter said this marks the first time the journalism education award has been presented by the association, which represents the interests of about 700 daily and non-daily newspapers in the six-state region. He said nominations were solicited from colleges and universities throughout New England during the summer.
“There is incredible work being done by professors throughout New England to teach the future leaders of our news organizations,” Cotter said. He said the selection by NENPA’s Journalism Education Foundation Board of Directors was especially difficult because of the outstanding work being done and the dedication of the professors at many New England campuses.
Mindich joined the St. Michael’s College Journalism Department in September 1996 and has been part of its doubling in size to about 160 journalism majors. There have been several changes in the curriculum to meet the future needs of students and the department recently changed its name to the Department of Media Studies, Journalism and Digital Arts to capture all of what is expected from news writers, editors and producers.
Mindich’s teaching includes regular and honor sections and draws in students from other majors interested in classes like Mass Communications and Society and The Media and Politics. Other journalism classes he has taught include: Intro to Writing, Media Law and Ethics, Editing and Design; Newspaper Management; New Media, Senior Seminar; and History of U.S. Media. His colleagues and students note Dr. Mindich is a professor that engages students not only during class, but before and after class and gets excellent written course evaluations.
Cotter said the NENPA judging panel was impressed by the nomination letters for Mindich that outlined his efforts to educate both students and the general public, his academic advising, his work as a department chair, his research, and as a commentator for national, regional and local news media outlets – both print and electronic. Dr. Mindich also has written two books: “Just the Facts: How Objectivity Came to Define American Journalism” (1998, NYU Press) and “Tuned Out: Why Americans Under 40 Don't Follow the News.” (2004, Oxford), a book Walter Cronkite called “very important … a handbook for the desperately needed attempt to inspire in the young generation a curiosity that generates the news habit.” Mindich is currently writing a comprehensive modern Mass Communications textbook for Oxford.
Mindich has been a strong advocate for the value of a First Amendment needed at a private institution, especially with its award-winning student newspaper.
He also helped St. Michael’s College became the first small college in the nation selected to host a Kappa Tau Alpha Journalism Honor Society and the only one in Northern New England. He has served on several national, regional and local boards, including a stint on the Vermont Press Association. Mindich has won numerous honors for his teaching, including the Krieghbaum Under 40 Award for Outstanding Teaching, Scholarship and Service in 2002 from the Association of Educators in Journalism and Mass Communication and the CASE/Carnegie Foundation’s Vermont Professor of the Year in 2006.
