Resolution Three: To Recognize and Honor Kappa Tau Alpha, the national college honor society for journalism and mass communication majors, which celebrated its 100th anniversary March 10, 2010

Kappa Tau Alpha, the national college honor society for journalism and mass communication majors, was chartered March 10, 1910. Founded at the University of Missouri, Kappa Tau Alpha is the seventh oldest national honor society.

Whereas, the Society is dedicated to the encouragement and recognition of excellence in scholarship, and

Whereas, journalism/mass communication students who are inducted must rank in the top 10 percent of their junior, senior or graduate classes, and

Whereas, more than 66,000 students have been inducted into KTA, and

Whereas, KTA has chapters at 93 colleges and universities.

Whereas, since 1944, KTA has conducted an annual competition for the best research-based book in the field, and,

Whereas, it also co-sponsors the AEJMC/Kappa Tau Alpha Awards Luncheon and presents awards ($1 for every year of KTA’s existence) to AEJMC division student research paper competition winners, among other activities.

Therefore, be it resolved that: the members of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) congratulate and express sincere appreciation to Kappa Tau Alpha as it commemorates its 100th anniversary during 2010.

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Resolution Four: To Support Freedom of Speech and of Information in the United States and Internationally.

Freedom of speech and of information has come under increasing threat in the United States and internationally.  Journalists and other media professionals have more frequently faced arrest, imprisonment, physical attack, torture and even death or threats of death for their communication efforts.

Whereas, in recognition of the importance of freedom of speech, of the press and of information to democracy and other forms of governance, and

Whereas, in recognition of the valuable contributions of journalists and other mass communication professionals in the United States and around the world,

Therefore, be it resolved that:

The Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) goes on record in support of freedom of speech and of information in the United States and internationally,

Be it further resolved that:
AEJMC formally requests that all heads of state and government officials in the United States and internationally actively take steps to ensure protections of free speech, of the press and of information including laws that formally protect freedom of speech and of information.

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AEJMC Members approved four resolutions during the 2010 Convention in Denver, CO.

• Resolution One: To Recognize and Honor Richard Burke, AEJMC Business Manager, for His 25 Years of Service to AEJMC.
• Resolution Two: To Recognize and Honor Fred Williams, AEJMC Convention Manager, for His 25 Years of Service to AEJMC.
• Resolution Three: To Recognize and Honor Kappa Tau Alpha, the national college honor society for journalism and mass communication majors, which celebrated its 100th anniversary March 10, 2010.
• Resolution Four: To Support Freedom of Speech and of Information in the United States and Internationally.

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Resolution Three: Civil Liberties

Whereas,

It is appropriate for AEJMC to voice its concerns for reasons that include:

• The USA PATRIOT Act was passed in haste in the fall of 2001 and signed by President Bush, within six weeks of the Sept. 11 tragedy. The checks and balance system failed the American public as the repressive nature of the Act was not fully recognized.

Whereas,

• Conventional wisdom and empirical scholarship attest to how civil liberties are put at risk during times of national crisis and war, and our national leaders have declared a war against terrorism in which thousands of persons have died.

Whereas,

• Appreciation and protection of First Amendment freedoms, including the freedom of expression, are inherent in the teaching and practice of journalism and mass communications. Leaders of the AEJMC have characterized First Amendment education as one of our most significant roles in higher education.

Whereas,

• The USA PATRIOT Act remains a controversy as government leaders seek to broaden their police powers on the one hand, and others seek to redress what they see as the Act’s threats to civil liberties, including those addressed by previous AEJMC resolutions.

Be it resolved that AEJMC

• Continue to monitor the impact of the USA PATRIOT Act on academic freedom and support measures designed to protect scholarly inquiry and free expression threatened by the Act.

Be it resolved that AEJMC and its members

• Oppose unwarranted broadening of police powers of the state under the Act and encourage legislative bodies to subject such proposals to far more debate and scrutiny than has been the case heretofore.

Be it resolved that AEJMC

• Support “Restore FOIA Act” legislation.

Be it resolved that AEJMC

• Explore joining a newly formed national coalition of organizations (see next page).

Be it resolved that AEJMC

• Recognize and respond in helpful ways to the impacts of the USA PATRIOT Act upon the academic careers and studies of our international colleagues and students.

Approved at AEJMC 2003 Convention
Kansas City, Missouri

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Resolution Two: Gender Equity

Whereas recent research by the American Association of University Professors, reported in the April 18, 2003 issue of The Chronicle of Higher Education indicates that there still is a pay gap between men and women professors.

And whereas, research reported by Ramona R. Rush and Carol E. Oukrop at the 2002 convention of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communications (AEJMC) indicates that salary is the “major discrimination concern” of female faculty members in journalism and mass communications (j/mc) programs.

Be it resolved:

1. That AEJMC appoint a committee or assign this task to an existing committee to request from the Becker Studies the relevant data on salaries and to ascertain what information is currently being gathered on salaries that can be used to ascertain if this gap also exists for journalism and mass communications professors; if no information is currently being gathered, to determine how best to obtain this information and to determine how best to reward those j/mc programs that are making active efforts to overcome this long lasting problem and/or that have succeeded in doing so.
2. That this committee report on its efforts and/or findings to the mid-year meeting of the AEJMC executive committee and to the AEJMC executive committee and the membership as a whole at the 2004 AEJMC convention.

(Prepared by Lionel C. Barrow, Jr., Vice Chair, Commission on the Status of Minorities)
Approved at AEJMC 2003 Convention
Kansas City, Missouri

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