April 20, 2001 UNT Inhouse publication: Gosh I love workign at the Mayborn Graduate Institute of Journalism

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Gosh, I love working at the Mayborn Graduate Institute of Journalism!

"Don't let our bosses know this, but if they knew how much we loved our work, they'd make us pay them — and we would!" I hear someone from the journalism faculty and staff say something like this at least once a week, and let me tell you why. We get a rush making our students successful in their academic and professional careers.

In fact, we get a rush giving away $200,000 each year to 20 graduate students, thanks to the generosity of our benefactor, the Frank W. & Anyse Sue Mayborn Foundation Advise and Consult Fund at Communities Foundation of Texas. The journalism graduate program proudly took a new name — the Frank W. Mayborn Graduate Institute of Journalism — in 1999 in recognition of the foundation's $2 million pledge. But just listen to what our students say:

"It turned out that the Mayborn was the perfect fit for what I want to do," says Edward Perez. Perez, who holds a master's degree in music, left a doctoral program in music because he realized he wanted to write about music as well as perform it.

Harper Clark, 55, reinvented himself when he returned in 1998 to pursue his master's degree in journalism. "Dr. Richard Wells (former chair) gave me an extremely positive and upbeat reception," Clark said. He said UNT was actively recruiting him and rolled out the welcome mat, so he decided to register. Clark was among the first cohort of Mayborn scholarship recipients.

Three-time Pulitzer Prize winner and UNT alumnus Howard Swindle of the Dallas Morning News told the editor of Strong Words, the Mayborn newsletter, why he accepted the invitation to serve as the first visiting lecturer of the institute last fall. "I've never forgotten the wonderful experience I had here. Several professors took me under their wings. Without them, I doubt I would have ever earned a degree," he said.

Master's student Emily Bryant says she appreciates the diversity of students at the Mayborn Institute.

"Journalism has an interesting and satisfying way of bringing my diversified interests together within a context of writing and graphic design," she says.

Clearly, it's not hard to see why we love working around these inspiring students. We truly believe that as long as our program stays focused on students, we'll never go wrong. And we put our "money where our mouth is." Before the end of spring, the Mayborn Graduate Institute of Journalism will have given away almost half a million dollars ($480,000) to students, and this only since spring 1999!

Mitch Land is director of the Mayborn Graduate Institute of Journalism and associate professor of journalism.