Society of Professional Journalists: Programs in a Box

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Vice President, Campus Chapter Affairs
Neil Alan Ralston
Western Kentucky University
1906 College Heights Blvd #11070
Bowling Green, Ky. 42101-1070
(270) 745-5841
E-mail
Bio (click to expand) Neil Ralston serves as vice president for campus chapter affairs, a position he was elected to in 2007 and re-elected to in 2009 and 2011. He began serving on the SPJ Board of Directors in 2003 when he was elected as a campus adviser at-large. Ralston is an assistant professor of journalism at Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green, Ky. Before joining the faculty at WKU in 2006, he was an associate professor of journalism at Northwestern State University in Natchitoches (NAK-uh-tish), La., where he advised the student SPJ chapter. He also has taught at Truman State University in Kirksville, Mo. Ralston began a career in journalism in 1978 and has worked as an editor, reporter and photographer at weekly and daily newspapers in Missouri, Illinois, Louisiana and Texas. His most recent full-time reporting job was in 1985-89 when he worked for the San Antonio (Texas) Light where he covered city hall, the police, federal law enforcement agencies and the federal courthouse.

Ralston has bachelor's degrees in communication and industrial technology from Northeast Missouri State University and a master's degree in journalism from The Ohio State University where he was a fellow in the Kiplinger Program of Public Affairs Reporting. He earned a doctorate from the University of Missouri-Columbia in 2002. Additionally, Ralston was named SPJ's campus chapter adviser of the year for the 1998-99 school year.

Campus Advisers At-Large

George Daniels
The University of Alabama
Associate Professor
P.O. Box 870172
Tuscaloosa, Ala. 35487
(205) 348-8618
E-mail
Bio (click to expand) Now in his second term as a campus adviser at-large on the SPJ National Board, George L. Daniels is a former chair of the SPJ Journalism Education Committee. As a graduate student, Daniels participated in the University of Georgia’s SPJ Campus Chapter.

But, his first experience with SPJ came when he received a scholarship from the Washington DC Chapter of what was then Sigma Delta Chi (SDX) in the early 1990s. Daniels was a 2006 SPJ Diversity Leadership Fellow and 2007 Scripps Institute Fellow.

Daniels is an associate professor of journalism at the University of Alabama’s College of Communication and Information Sciences. He joined the UA faculty in 2003 after completing his master's and Ph.D. degrees at The University of Georgia’s Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication.

Before moving into the academic arena, Daniels worked as a news producer at WTVR-TV in Richmond, Va., WLWT-TV in Cincinnati, Ohio and WXIA-TV in Atlanta. He is a cum laude graduate of Howard University in Washington, DC.

Kym Fox
Texas State University
601 University Dr.
San Marcos, TX 78666
(512) 245-3484
E-mail
Bio (click to expand) Kym Fox joined SPJ while an undergrad at Arizona State University in the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism. She has been president of the San Antonio Pro Chapter and is currently the co-adviser to the Texas State University student chapter. Fox spent the first 20 something years of her career as a reporter and editor, first at the Mesa Tribune, a 40,000 daily in a suburb of Phoenix, and then 18 years at the San Antonio Express-News. She was the deputy metro editor when she left the Express-News to take to the classroom at Texas State. Most of her career, she spent covering courts and legal affairs, thus her affinity for Freedom of Information projects. Over the years she has covered everything from high school sports to George H.W Bush signing NAFTA. She has interviewed the Queen of England and Michael Jackson, though not at the same time. Along with her B.S. in journalism, she earned an M.A. in communications from the University of the Incarnate Word while an editor at the Express-News. At Texas State she is a senior lecturer and coordinator of the journalism sequence. She teaches a variety of writing classes as well as multimedia journalism. Her take on the future of journalism: “Newspapers are NOT dying. They are evolving.” Find her on Twitter @kymfox.

Campus Representatives

Mary S. Kenney
Indiana University
Twitter
E-mail

Meg Wagner
University of Florida
Twitter
E-mail

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Home > Resources for Students > Tools for Leaders > Programs in a Box > Slice 'n' Dice

Slice 'n' Dice
Introduction | Directions | Downloadable Resources

Introduction

Grab a slice and let the pros dice. That's right, it's Slice 'n' Dice, a program that brings together students and professionals for networking, résumé critiques and grub.

We've got everything you need in the "virtual" box, including directions, flyers and a sign up sheet. There are even some nifty table tents to spruce up the place. All you need to do is bring in the pros and order some pizza.

Directions

First things first: pick a date. The most practical dates in our book? Beginning of the quarter or semester when school realities have yet to set in and right before graduation, just in time for that “Oh crap, I have to get a job” moment. As for the time, it works best at lunch time (pizza and lunch together, who would have guessed...). This time slot also makes it easy for your professional critique-masters to slide it into their own lunch hour.

Get the info out. We have the flyer ready for download, so this step is pretty simple. Fill out your info, print it off, email it around and tape it to restroom stalls. Well, maybe not that last one. Whatever you do, don't forget to tell all students, not just your members. This is a great recruiting tool. Also, remember to distribute the flyer out to the professionals so they have some solid information and something appealing to look at as a reminder.

Price the pizza. Call around, ask questions and sound important. Many pizza places will cut you a deal just because the advertising is good for them. Remember to check with your school about funding opportunities so the money doesn't have to come out of your chapter's wallet.

Get a schedule together. We've included a template for scheduling time slots so you can get things organized before the event or right at the start. If you don't need them, don't use them. Sometimes a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants approach works better. Just make sure that you don't keep any student waiting for long periods of time or leave a pro standing there with nothing better to do than stare at their phone.

Set up and grub. In this neat, little virtual box, you'll also find some nifty table tents. Print, fold and direct people to their numbered station. This will give you more time to stuff your own face, trust us, everyone needs that.

Enjoy the event and don’t forget to let us know how it went. We’d love to hear from you.

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