About
The Center for Scholastic Journalism amplifies the work of the Knight Chair in Scholastic Journalism to cultivate journalism education in middle and secondary schools in the United States. Established in 2006, the Center is part of the School of Media and Journalism at Kent State University and is supported with an endowment from the Knight Foundation.
Goals
- To promote the value of scholastic journalism.
- To grow and diversify the cadre of students engaging in journalism activities in middle and secondary schools.
- To produce research that informs and supports scholastic journalism initiatives.
- To support the preparation of journalism instructors through the online graduate degree and certificate in journalism education.
Leadership
Professor and Knight Chair in Scholastic Journalism Peter Bobkowski joined Kent State in 2023 to lead the Center for Scholastic Journalism.
Bobkowski is a former high school teacher and adviser of award-winning student publications. He holds a doctorate in mass communication research from the Hussman School of Journalism and Media at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
In his research, Bobkowski examines journalism education practice and its outcomes. He has published more than 40 research articles and book chapters.
He is a former member of the National Scholastic Press Association (NSPA) board of directors, and a former research chair of the Scholastic Journalism Division in the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC).
For his sustained service to scholastic journalism he received the Pioneer Award from NSPA, the Gold Key from Columbia Scholastic Press Association, and the David Adams Journalism Educator of the Year award from the Scholastic Journalism Division of AEJMC.
From 2011 to 2023, he served as assistant, associate and full professor in the William Allen White School of Journalism and Mass Communications at the University of Kansas. In 2022, he was a Fulbright Specialist at Laurea University of Applied Sciences in Vantaa, Finland.