M.S. GRADUATION AWARD: Leslie Rachel Sander Social Justice Award
Dear M.S. Class of 2009:
The M.S. Class of 1989 is pleased to announce the Leslie Rachel Sander Social Justice Award, in memory of our classmate who died on her 22nd birthday in June 1989, after a courageous battle with cancer.
In past years prizes have gone to completed works, but for 2009, to mark our 20th reunion, we are offering a $5,000 grant to help a student complete a work in progress or a proposed project that carries on the journalism for social justice to which Leslie aspired. The winner will be chosen by some of her former classmates and announced on Journalism Day.
All M.S. students graduating in 2009 are invited to submit one grant proposal each. Group submissions also are accepted (Please have one person submit for the group; all team members will need to provide reference letters).
Choice of Subject…
…is yours. Reporting including but not limited to economics, environment, education, health care, housing, politics and transportation may be appropriate. Entries could be a hard-hitting expose or a descriptive feature. Any medium is accepted: print, broadcast, photography, new media.
Past winners have included a story about teenage female criminals falling through the cracks of a criminal justice system designed for an overwhelmingly male population (1997); our first broadcast winner, “TB: The City’s Silent Killer” (1995); and “Childhood Interrupted,” about children who come to the United States seeking asylum and end up in INS detention (2002).
We leave it to you to define social justice. To Leslie it meant a commitment “to personally make a positive difference in the world around her,” as her father wrote in her obituary. Leslie was special: caring, and compassionate, a good listener and a sharp, critical thinker. The choices she made in her short life–teaching at a multiracial school in Botswana; studying journalism—reflected her ideals.
Proposal criteria
1. A cover letter providing an explanation of your project, including why the project is important and why it is original. Other information, such as your journalism background and interest in social justice journalism, also would be helpful. Please keep the length to two pages maximum.
2. For works in progress, please submit work that has been done and any other supporting research. For a project proposal, please submit any initial research that has been conducted. For photo essays, please provide at least 10 photos.
3. A detailed budget for the project including how the money would be used and when it is needed. If this grant would not cover the full cost of the project, what other funding are you pursuing?
4. Three professional recommendations. At least one must be from a professor at the Journalism School. Please provide contact information.
5. Two examples of previous work, preferably highlighting social justice journalism. This could be work from school or a previous or current job.
The winner also will agree to keep the award committee apprised of the project’s outcome. The grant will be administered in two phases, as the work progresses.
The deadline for submissions at http://fs8.formsite.com/cjdos/Sander is 5 p.m. April 22, 2009.
Questions? Please contact Karyn Colombo at karyncolombo@yahoo.com or at (561) 659-9880.
Regards,
M.S. Class of 1989
*This award and Leslie Sander award [instructions distributed next week] are among the 30 or so M.S. graduation prizes awarded each year. Details and application instructions (for those that require submissions) will be distributed at a later date. These two, however, are judged by alumni committees so have earlier application deadlines.
