The summer workshops at the journalism school won’t be nixed after all.
Originally, officials in the University of Iowa School of Journalism and Mass Communication decided to do away with the workshops for a summer, which have been around for more than 60 years. However, the workshops will staff after fundraising efforts.
“The program was becoming more and more expensive every year and our student turnout was not where we would like it be,” said David Ryfe, the director of the journalism school.
Additionally, Dave Schwartz’s contract expired and budgetary issues arose. Schwartz, who had directed the camps for the past eight years, will earn a Ph.D. in 2016. (Disclosure: Schwartz is also the sports coach for the *Daily Iowan*.)
The workshops host students from all around Iowa and the country and usually take place in late July. High-school students live on campus for five days and participate in workshops focusing on broadcast journalism, advanced graphic design, and investigative reporting.
As costs rose, the need for students to enroll became more of a priority. However, enrollment has been down somewhat in the workshops over the past few years.
The initial plan was to take a one-year break to find more money and a new director. The *DI* ran a story about the that decision in October.
Upon release of the article, Ryfe and Rebecca Kick, the journalism-school administrator, were overwhelmed by feedback from the public.
“Phone calls, text messages, letters, and tweets were pouring in,” Ryfe said. “I didn’t even realize the workshop was in such a high demand.”
Jonathan Rogers, who has helped out with the program for seven years, has sent a handful of students to the workshop every year. He is also the president of the Iowa High School Press Association.
“The Iowa summer camps have been an important educational opportunity for my students,” he said. “From design to writing to digital media, the camp elevated students’ abilities.”
Other teachers in the area encourage students to join the workshops every summer. Natalie Niemeyer, a teacher at East High in Des Moines who has taught sportswriting at the workshops, previously told the DI that several of her students ended up at the UI after enrolling.
Kick, who oversees the workshops, said there are two major reasons they are important: tradition and recruiting.
“It’s about the history of it,” she said. “It has been a tradition here for 63 years, and we would like to see that tradition continue. It is also a huge recruiting tool for the university’s journalism school to bring students here.”