AEJMC Resolution Three 2024
October 18, 2024
Proposing the LGBTQ Interest Group Become a Commission
Whereas, since the establishment of the Lesbian, Gay and Family Interest Group in 1993, AEJMC has had units focused on issues of those in sexual marginalized groups; and
Whereas, what is now known as the AEJMC Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ+) Interest Group was first formed in 2003; and
Whereas, for more than twenty years, much of AEJMC’s advocacy for sexual and gender minorities has been led through the work of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ+) Interest Group; and
Whereas, diversity is one of the five core areas of the Professional Freedom & Responsibility (PF&R) mission of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC); and
Whereas, the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications (ACEJMC) has established “Diversity and Inclusiveness” as one of the eight standards by which all 119 accredited units are evaluated, tasking those units with empowering individuals traditionally disenfranchised based on their sexual orientation, gender and/or sex assigned at birth; and
Whereas, other marginalized groups within AEJMC are represented among membership as Commissions, with their heads serving as members of the AEJMC Board of Directors; and
Whereas, moving the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ+) Interest Group will create a more equitable, diverse and inclusive environment for marginalized groups in AEJMC;
Now, therefore, be it resolved, that AEJMC members support the establishment of the Commission on the Status of the LGBTQ+ Community; and
Be it further resolved that based on the recommendation of the AEJMC Board of Directors, AEJMC members be urged to participate in the online voting required to amend the AEJMC bylaws to establish a fourth Commission on the Status of the LGBTQ+ Community.
CONTACT:
Samantha Higgins, AEJMC Communications Director, 803-798-0271
Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC)
The Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) is a nonprofit scholarly organization with more than 2,000 members in about 40 countries who teach and research journalism, public relations, advertising, digital media, film, and media literacy. Founded in 1912, AEJMC is the oldest and largest alliance of communication educators and administrators at the college level. AEJMC’s mission is to promote the highest possible standards for journalism and mass communication education, to encourage the broadest possible range of communication research, to promote the implementation of a multicultural society in the classroom and curriculum, and to defend and maintain freedom of communication in an effort to achieve better professional practice, a better-informed public, and wider human understanding.
AEJMC 2024 Resolutions
AEJMC members approved resolutions during the 2024 year.
October 18, 2024
The AEJMC Standing Committee on Professional Freedom and Responsibility (PF&R) has endorsed the three proposed resolutions which were developed by the PF&R subcommittee on resolutions and members of the AEJMC Council of Divisions (CoD).
AEJMC plays a key role in representing the interests of its more than 2000 members on topics such as freedom of information, diversity, equity, and inclusion, as well as academic freedom.
In accordance with the recently amended bylaws, three separate online discussion forums were open in the AEJMC Community for members to discuss the three proposed resolutions.
Questions? Contact Amanda Caldwell, AEJMC Executive Director, at .
Resolution One: Supporting Black Women in Higher Education Leadership
Resolution Two: Supporting Indigenous Scholars and Indigenous-Owned Media
Resolution Three: Proposing the LGBTQ Interest Group Become a Commission
AEJMC Resolution Two 2024
October 18, 2024
Supporting Indigenous Scholars and Indigenous-Owned Media
Whereas, the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) has diversity and inclusion and ethics as two of its core areas of professional freedom and responsibility; and
Whereas, when it comes to professional freedom and responsibility of Indigenous scholars and scholarship, one must balance the right to engage in research on Indigenous issues with the responsibility to do so in an ethical and respectful way, especially if he or she is not a member of the Indigenous community; and
Whereas, in recent years, there have been instances within AEJMC when researchers have sought to engage with Indigenous topics and issues without necessarily ensuring that Native voices are prominent in such efforts as programming, research, or teaching; and
Whereas, the Indigenous Journalists Association (IJA), formerly the Native American Journalists Association, recently celebrated its 40th anniversary; and
Whereas, in the United States, less than one half of one percent of newsroom employees identify as Indigenous and the majority of journalism and mass communication faculties still have no Indigenous faculty members; and
Whereas, IJA President Christine Trudeau, Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation, recently called for at the 23rd session of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues to encourage states to legally recognize Indigenous-owned media;
Now, therefore, be it resolved, that the members of AEJMC go on record supporting a more intentional effort to make AEJMC a better space for Indigenous scholars to feel welcome and know their perspective, time, and expertise will be respected and heard; and
Be it further resolved that AEJMC join the call for legal recognition of Indigenous-owned media and increased recruitment of Indigenous scholars as instructors in journalism and mass communication programs; and
Be it further resolved that in consultation with the Elected Standing Committee on Professional Freedom and Responsibility, that Indigenous scholars be front and center in conceiving, planning, and executing at least one program element on the topic of ethics and responsibility in Indigenous scholarship and the state of Indigenous-owned media in at least the next two AEJMC annual conferences in 2025 and 2026; and
Finally, be it resolved, that all AEJMC divisions, interest groups, and commissions be strongly encouraged to seek out Indigenous scholars to serve as leaders in their units.
CONTACT:
Samantha Higgins, AEJMC Communications Director, 803-798-0271
Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC)
The Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) is a nonprofit scholarly organization with more than 2,000 members in about 40 countries who teach and research journalism, public relations, advertising, digital media, film, and media literacy. Founded in 1912, AEJMC is the oldest and largest alliance of communication educators and administrators at the college level. AEJMC’s mission is to promote the highest possible standards for journalism and mass communication education, to encourage the broadest possible range of communication research, to promote the implementation of a multicultural society in the classroom and curriculum, and to defend and maintain freedom of communication in an effort to achieve better professional practice, a better-informed public, and wider human understanding.
AEJMC Resolution One 2024
October 18, 2024
Supporting Black Women in Higher Education Leadership
Whereas, the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) has diversity and inclusion as a core area of professional freedom and responsibility; and
Whereas, Dr. Antoinette Candia-Bailey, vice president of Lincoln University of Missouri, which is home to the nation’s first journalism school at a Historically Black College or university, received a termination letter on January 3, 2024, after having accused the school’s president of bullying, harassment, and discrimination; and
Whereas, on January 8, 2024, Dr. Candia-Bailey died by suicide, shining the spotlight on Black women’s struggles in higher education; and
Whereas, the nationwide controversy came less than a year after the mishandling and mistreatment of Dr. Kathleen McElroy, a Black woman, as a candidate for founding director of the journalism program at Texas A&M University; and
Whereas, research published in 2024 in Journalism & Mass Communication Educator shows that since 1983, when the association’s name changed to AEJMC, 15 of 30 AEJMC presidents have been women, including three who identify as African American; and
Whereas, women have had a dominant presence in several other positions within AEJMC, reflecting the organization’s leadership role in creating gender parity in leadership; and
Whereas, since 1999 when two Black women, AEJMC President Marilyn Kern-Foxworth and ASJMC President Shirley Staples Carter, developed what was then known as the Journalism and Mass Communication Leadership Institute for Diversity (JLID), more than 100 women of color have been among those participating in and receiving mentoring and leadership training;
Now, therefore, be it resolved that AEJMC go on record supporting women of color generally, and Black women in particular, as they seek roles of leadership in higher education, including but not limited to department chair, dean, director, president, vice president and provost; and
Be it further resolved that AEJMC through its divisions, interest groups, and commissions sponsor programming that brings a new level of attention to the importance of mental health status of women leaders; and
Finally, be it resolved that AEJMC through its Institute for Diverse Leadership (IDL) in Journalism and Communication include intentional programming related to mental health and self-care as a part of its leadership development program.
CONTACT:
Samantha Higgins, AEJMC Communications Director, 803-798-0271
Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC)
The Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) is a nonprofit scholarly organization with more than 2,000 members in about 40 countries who teach and research journalism, public relations, advertising, digital media, film, and media literacy. Founded in 1912, AEJMC is the oldest and largest alliance of communication educators and administrators at the college level. AEJMC’s mission is to promote the highest possible standards for journalism and mass communication education, to encourage the broadest possible range of communication research, to promote the implementation of a multicultural society in the classroom and curriculum, and to defend and maintain freedom of communication in an effort to achieve better professional practice, a better-informed public, and wider human understanding.
AEJMC Resolution Four 2023
Recommitment to College/University Diversity Programs and Minority Faculty Hiring Resolution
News Release:
October 31, 2023
CONTACT:
Samantha Higgins, AEJMC Communications Director, 803-798-0271
Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC)
The Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) is a nonprofit scholarly organization with more than 2,000 members in about 40 countries who teach and research journalism, public relations, advertising, digital media, film, and media literacy. Founded in 1912, AEJMC is the oldest and largest alliance of communication educators and administrators at the college level. AEJMC’s mission is to promote the highest possible standards for journalism and mass communication education, to encourage the broadest possible range of communication research, to promote the implementation of a multicultural society in the classroom and curriculum, and to defend and maintain freedom of communication in an effort to achieve better professional practice, a better-informed public, and wider human understanding. For more information about AEJMC, please visit www.AEJMC.org.
Resolution Four:
Whereas, since its creation of the Ad-Hoc Coordinating Committee on Minority Education in 1968, AEJMC has had recruiting a diverse faculty and student body in media education as one of its priorities; and
Whereas, in 1989 the AEJMC membership passed a resolution calling on the association and on the schools and departments of journalism and mass communications to make every effort to achieve 50 percent minority and/or female faculty and administrators by the year 2000; and
Whereas, in 2023, such parity in faculty and administrators in mass communication units has remained unfulfilled; and
Whereas, multiple state legislatures in 2023 either considered or successfully passed bills banning diversity, equity, and inclusion programs at higher education institutions; and
Whereas, in May 2023, a bill signed into law in the state of Florida restricts how race and gender can be taught in Florida’s public higher education institutions and bans them from using state or federal funding for diversity programs; and
Whereas, a new Texas law mandates that starting in January 2024, Texas campuses must eliminate DEI offices, mandatory DEI statements, and training; and
Whereas, multiple colleges and universities eliminated their diversity, equity, and inclusion divisions or units; and
Whereas, in 2023, for the second time in two years, hiring decisions involving faculty from racial minority groups were influenced by outside forces resistant to the faculty members’ points of view on diversity; and
Whereas, critics of diversity, equity, and inclusion programs argue such initiatives stand for discrimination, exclusion, and indoctrination;
Now, therefore, be it resolved that AEJMC officially go on record as supporting college and university offices, programs, and initiatives focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion; and
Be it further resolved that AEJMC through its Professional Freedom & Responsibility mission continue to challenge journalism and mass communication units to remain steadfast in their efforts to recruit and retain faculty from groups minoritized along the lines of gender identity, race, color, religion, age, ethnicity/national origin, disability/differently abled, sexuality or sexual orientation, marital status, family/parental status; and
Finally, be it resolved that AEJMC leaders work to create spaces for training and development for association members that offer support for their research and teaching on topics related to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
AEJMC Resolution Three 2023
Learn From History Resolution
News Release:
August 30, 2023
CONTACT:
Samantha Higgins, AEJMC Communications Director, 803-798-0271
Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC)
The Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) is a nonprofit scholarly organization with more than 2,000 members in about 40 countries who teach and research journalism, public relations, advertising, digital media, film, and media literacy. Founded in 1912, AEJMC is the oldest and largest alliance of communication educators and administrators at the college level. AEJMC’s mission is to promote the highest possible standards for journalism and mass communication education, to encourage the broadest possible range of communication research, to promote the implementation of a multicultural society in the classroom and curriculum, and to defend and maintain freedom of communication in an effort to achieve better professional practice, a better-informed public, and wider human understanding. For more information about AEJMC, please visit www.AEJMC.org.
Resolution Three:
Whereas, history plays a key role in helping students of all ages avoid repeating the mistakes of the past, succeed in diversity workplaces and create a better society; and
Whereas, a multicultural journalism history, in particular, is a requirement for journalism and mass communication programs to remain in compliance with the Curriculum standards for the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications; and
Whereas, as educators, the members of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) believe wholeheartedly that it is essential to provide students with a fact-based history education while teaching them to reject racism and respect the equal value of every person; and
Whereas, it is a fact that racism played a significant role in our past, and sadly continues to be widespread and harmful to us all; and
Whereas, the members of AEJMC in 2022 passed a resolution opposing education gag orders or legislation restricting topics related to diversity, equity and inclusion; and
Whereas, the members of AEJMC in 2022 also passed a resolution supporting educators responding to any legislation that bans or limits discussions of so-called “divisive concepts” and topics such as Critical Race Theory in the classroom; and
Whereas, with organizations such as the American Historical Association, The National Association for Media Literacy Education, and the Organization of American Historians among its members, the Learn from History coalition seeks to combat deliberate misinformation about the current state of history education and the ways that historians write about and teach the centrality of racism in the evolution of American institutions; and
Whereas, removing parts of a society’s history amounts to censorship; and
Whereas, the AEJMC has been a longstanding advocate for The First Amendment and free expression; and
Now, therefore, be it resolved that AEJMC as an organization joins the nearly 30 organizations that are part of the Learn from History Coalition, which exists solely to facilitate broad-based effective communication about the vital importance of students learning thorough, accurate and fact-based history while demonstrating the harm of restricting what is taught in the classroom;
Be it further resolved that working through its Standing Committee on Professional Freedom and Responsibility and units such as the History Division and Commission on the Status of Minorities, AEJMC designates a “Learn From History liaison” to participate in Learn from History meetings and serve as a point of contact for education initiatives that warrant future action by AEJMC and its members.
AEJMC Resolution Two 2023
Inclusive History Resolution
News Release:
August 30, 2023
CONTACT:
Samantha Higgins, AEJMC Communications Director, 803-798-0271
Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC)
The Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) is a nonprofit scholarly organization with more than 2,000 members in about 40 countries who teach and research journalism, public relations, advertising, digital media, film, and media literacy. Founded in 1912, AEJMC is the oldest and largest alliance of communication educators and administrators at the college level. AEJMC’s mission is to promote the highest possible standards for journalism and mass communication education, to encourage the broadest possible range of communication research, to promote the implementation of a multicultural society in the classroom and curriculum, and to defend and maintain freedom of communication in an effort to achieve better professional practice, a better-informed public, and wider human understanding. For more information about AEJMC, please visit www.AEJMC.org.
Resolution Two:
Whereas, the Florida Department of Education (FLDOE) in May 2023 issued a ruling banning educators from providing classroom instruction to students in grades 4-12 on sexual orientation or gender identity unless such instruction is expressly required by state academic standards; and
Whereas, such a ruling flattens the story of America’s long Civil Rights Movement that includes examining cultures, religions and societies that have embraced traditions of gender fluidity and homosexuality as meaningful categories of social identity and organization; and
Whereas, according to the Movement Advancement Project, an independent, nonprofit think tank, at least nine other states have passed laws censoring discussion of LGBTQ people or issues in school; and
Whereas, removing parts of a society’s history amounts to censorship; and
Whereas, the AEJMC has been a longstanding advocate for The First Amendment and free expression; and
Whereas, for more than twenty years, much of the AEJMC’s advocacy for sexual minorities has been led through the work of its Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Queer (LGBTQ+) Interest Group along with organizations such as NLGJA: The Association of LGBTQ+ Journalists; and
Whereas, diversity is one of the five core areas of the Professional Freedom & Responsibility (PF&R) mission of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC); and
Whereas, the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications (ACEJMC) has established “Diversity and Inclusiveness” as one of the eight standards by which all 119 accredited units have programs that empower those traditionally disenfranchised in the areas that include sexual orientation; and
Now, therefore, be it resolved that AEJMC joins the coalition of at least 49 organizations lead by the American History Association that call for the Florida Department of Education to reconsider its vague and destructive policy of censorship;
Be it further resolved that AEJMC supports in any way possible its members and journalism and mass communication units in any state where efforts are being made to censor discussions of LGBTQ people or issues in school; and
Be it further resolved that AEJMC encourages the teaching of accurate and inclusive histories of the U.S. and the world not only in the state of Florida at the K-12 schools, but in the entirety of the U.S. and at colleges and universities around the world.
AEJMC Resolution One 2023
The Dylan Lyons Resolution
News Release:
August 30, 2023
CONTACT:
Samantha Higgins, AEJMC Communications Director, 803-798-0271
Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC)
The Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) is a nonprofit scholarly organization with more than 2,000 members in about 40 countries who teach and research journalism, public relations, advertising, digital media, film, and media literacy. Founded in 1912, AEJMC is the oldest and largest alliance of communication educators and administrators at the college level. AEJMC’s mission is to promote the highest possible standards for journalism and mass communication education, to encourage the broadest possible range of communication research, to promote the implementation of a multicultural society in the classroom and curriculum, and to defend and maintain freedom of communication in an effort to achieve better professional practice, a better-informed public, and wider human understanding. For more information about AEJMC, please visit www.AEJMC.org.
Resolution One:
Whereas, Dylan Lyons and Jesse Walden were both shot while reporting on a homicide in Central Florida on February 22, 2023; and
Whereas, Lyons, who had just joined Spectrum News 13 in July 2022, died from injuries sustained when the suspect in the case returned to the crime scene in Pine Hills community, just outside of Orlando, and fired fatal shots at the reporting team; and
Whereas, Lyons was a proud graduate of the Nicholson School of Communication and Media at University of Central Florida where he anchored the UCF Knightly News, a student-run news program; and
Whereas, part of the Professional Freedom & Responsibility mission of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) is to promote the practice of the First Amendment by reporters like Lyons while preparing students for the dangers of a profession made even worse by a recent spike in mass shootings; and
Whereas, the Committee to Protect Journalists noted that Lyons’ death came nearly six months after another reporter, Jeff German, an investigative reporter at Las Vegas Review Journal, was stabbed to death on September 2, 2022; and
Whereas, Lyons’ death brings to 14 the number of the journalists killed while working in the U.S. since 1992, the year Committee to Protect Journalists began keeping records;
Now, therefore, be it resolved that AEJMC joins the faculty at the Nicholson School in celebrating the short life and award-winning journalism of Dylan Lyons while keeping in mind AEJMC members and colleagues whose lives were touched or changed by incidents of violence such as a mass shooting; and
Be it further resolved that AEJMC divisions and interest groups sponsor research and teaching panels and programming that educate attendees about how to facilitate learning in various courses on covering mass shootings and their aftermath including lessons that help prepare students to handle and confront vicarious trauma; and
Finally, as evidence of fulfillment of public service, one of the five core areas of AEJMC’s professional freedom and responsibility, be it resolved that copies of this resolution be presented to the family of Dylan Lyons and the faculty, staff and students of the Nicholson School of Communication and Media in Orlando, Florida.
AEJMC 2023 Resoultions
AEJMC members approved resolutions during the 2023 year.
August 30, 2023
The AEJMC Standing Committee on Professional Freedom and Responsibility (PF&R) has endorsed the three proposed resolutions which were developed by the PF&R subcommittee on resolutions and members of the AEJMC Council of Divisions (CoD).
AEJMC plays a key role of representing the interests of its more than 2000 members on topics such as freedom of information, diversity, equity, and inclusion, as well as academic freedom.
In accordance with the recently amended bylaws, four separate online discussion forums were opened in the AEJMC Community for members to discuss the four proposed resolutions.
- Resolution One: The Dylan Lyons Resolution
- Resolution Two: Inclusive History Resolution
- Resolution Three: Learn From History Resolution
- Resolution Four: Recommitment to College/University Diversity Programs and Minority Faculty Hiring Resolution
AEJMC Resolution Two 2022
New Voices Laws
CONTACT:
Samantha Higgins, AEJMC Communications Director, 803-798-0271
Deb Aikat, Ph.D., University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, AEJMC president
Resolution Two:
Whereas, in its mission the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communications (AEJMC), as part of its “Professional Freedom and Responsibility” goals, works to promote freedom of speech and the press as embodied in the First Amendment; and
Whereas, the association encourages its members to promote and defend those rights vigorously; and
Whereas, in 2022, Hawaii became the 16th state to adopt a New Voices law, which restores and protects the freedom of Hawaii’s student media; and
Whereas, Hawaii’s HB 1848 ensures that student journalists alone determine the content of school-sponsored media, including but not limited to video, audio, print and digital outlets, and are protected from censorship except in narrow, well-defined circumstances while protecting student media advisers from retaliation for refusing to illegally censor their students’ work; and
Whereas, similar laws have been or are currently being considered by a number of state legislatures, including New York, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Minnesota, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia; and
Whereas, First Amendment rights of student journalists are now protected by state law in Arkansas, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Jersey, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and the state of Washington.
Now, therefore, be it resolved, that AEJMC take an active role in supporting the passage of New Voices laws through its Elected Standing Committee on Professional Freedom and Responsibility and the AEJMC Scholastic Journalism Division, one of the association’s original divisions; and
Be it further resolved that through units such as the AEJMC Law and Policy Division, AEJMC strongly encourages research and teaching about New Voices laws and student press freedom in courses in the law of mass communication required in programs accredited by the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications, as well as in other courses as appropriate.
