The James M. Cox Jr. Institute for Journalism Innovation, Management, and Leadership sponsored the opening reception of the Association of Leadership Educators (ALE) annual conference in Charleston, South Carolina on July 9.
ALE is dedicated to connecting leadership educators through commonalities in research and practical experience. Nearly 200 educators attended the conference. Keith Herndon, director of the Cox Institute, spoke at the conference’s opening reception about the importance of leadership education in the field of journalism during a time of industry disruption.
“Our students know they are training to be guardians of the First Amendment… and that’s why ethical leadership principles inherent in the authentic and servant leadership frameworks are so important as we prepare a generation of journalists to be resilient and resourceful,” said Herndon.
Herndon and Cox Institute graduate assistant Ryan Kor presented a co-authored innovative practice paper at the conference titled Industry Practicum: Teaching Skills, Producing Thought Leaders. The innovative practice explored the need to teaching thought leadership as a skill in journalism education. The Grady Mobile News Lab served as a practicum example to illustrate the concepts.
The Cox Institute’s involvement at the ALE conference is part of an ongoing commitment to introduce the next generation of journalists to leadership principles that can define their careers and strengthen the industry.
Herndon said the Cox Institute “is at the forefront of bringing leadership education into our discipline.”
