The New School’s innovative Journalism + Design program was given more than $2 million in October to expand the program and reach new universities and professional networks, officials said.
The Knight Foundation granted the two-year-old J+D program $1.3 million that’ll be matched by The New School to bring the grand total up to $2.6 million, according to a Knight Foundation announcement released on October 17th.
The grant will also allow the hiring of more staff and create new and innovative classes. Over the next three years the program will increase in size and move beyond The New School through partnerships with other universities and more learning opportunities for students. The school will also open its doors to journalists creating a professional hub for exploration and growth.
J+D administrators claim the innovative goals of the program have already drawn in an impressive number of students. When the program first launched, only about 90 students took the only seven classes it offered, Lindsay Abrams, J+D Program Coordinator said. She explained that now, two years later, 242 students can take 25 classes in the program.
“I chose the program because I was very focused on online and progressive journalism in high school and there are very few programs with as much of a focus on design in the country,.” Ellie Plass, a freshman studying J+D said.
The program is an Bachelor of Arts which was launched in 2014 under the leadership of Heather Chaplin. Chaplin spent 10 years covering video games for the National Public Radio’s All Things Considered and co-authored “Smartbomb: The Quest for Art, Entertainment and Big Bucks in the Videogame Revolution” which was a New York Times Notable Book of 2006, according to the program’s website.
“I was interested in the future of news and digital journalism,” Chaplin said. “I had years working with designers and watched how they grapple with the digital ecosystem and always had thought there was a lot from journalists could learn.”
“The program is at the forefront of journalism education [and] we are preparing our students to be change leaders in the industry and to meet the information needs of communities, while equipping working journalists with best practices for journalism in the digital age,” said Stephanie Browner, the dean of Eugene Lang College in a Knight Foundation press release.
“What we have achieved in the past two years has been extraordinary,” Chaplin said. “This generous grant will help us move beyond our undergraduate program at The New School and bring resources to working professionals”
The program hired two new full-time faculty in 2015 and has received lots of excitement from the outside professional world. “Journalist’s are always asking to to do workshops and teach classes,” Chaplin said.
“Nowadays in the world of journalism, it is imperative to be proficient in a lot of different areas and disciplines.” He hopes that as a guest lecturer working with faculty and students he will have a hand in shaping the way students prepare for the ever-changing journalism world. Aidan Gardiner, journalist and J+D guest lecturer said.
Photo by Julia Himmel