J School centennial planning underway
Published Oct. 26, 2007
The Missouri School of Journalism is less than a year from hitting the century mark, and school administrators have not yet confirmed how they plan to celebrate or how much to spend in doing so.
School of Journalism spokeswoman Suzette Heiman said the school wants to remain flexible in planning the itinerary for the September event.
"The process we're using is just a common planning process," Heiman said.
Heiman said a final schedule for the event has not yet been established, nor has a projection of the costs associated with the event or how much the school plans to spend. She said costs would serve as a "reality check" after a firmer plan for the event is developed.
Heiman said she expects the school's administration to have a clear idea of what the festival will entail and a basic idea of the costs by next spring. She said private donors have thus far contributed about $90,000 to the event.
"This is a once in a century event," Heiman said. "The focus needs to be to plan the best festival that we can."
To pay for the festival, the school is able to draw on funding it has received from donors in the For All We Call Mizzou fundraising campaign.
University Development spokeswoman Beth Hammock said the school has raised about $72 million in the campaign from various donors. She said how the school uses the funds is up to the discretion of the individual donors, unless they are earmarked for unrestricted use.
Heiman said the school has also considered charging guests for attendance to the event as a possible avenue for funding.
The school announced in February that the event would take place Sept. 10-12 next year and will feature a multimedia presentation highlighting the First Amendment, a preview of a historical documentary of the school, technological demonstrations in the Journalism Futures Laboratory and networking activities.
Dates and times have not been set for these events.
The Missouri Press Association will hold a golf tournament Sept. 10, and a dedication of the Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute, which is currently under construction.
Journalism professor Roger Gafke, who also serves a director of program development for the project, said the institute is set to be complete in June 2008.
Gafke said he serves a liaison between the school and the principal donor to the construction project, the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation, which contributed $31 million to the project.