For Immediate Release

Contacts:
Lauren Rochester, SPJ Awards Coordinator, (317) 927-8000 ext. 210,
lrochester@spj.orgAbby Henkel, SPJ Communications Coordinator, (317) 927-8000 ext. 215,
ahenkel@spj.org


INDIANAPOLIS—The Society of Professional Journalists is pleased to honor Mead Loop of Ithaca College with the David L. Eshelman Outstanding Campus Adviser Award for 2011.

The award, named after longtime SPJ member and board “Parliamentarian” David L. Eshelman, recognizes individuals who have done an outstanding job serving as SPJ campus adviser and who have contributed to their chapters and the national organization over an extended period of time. Click here for more on the award and a list of previous honorees.

In addition to teaching research journalism at the Roy H. Park College of Communications at Ithaca College, Loop founded the college’s SPJ chapter in 1994 and has served as adviser ever since, overseeing more than 150 programs over the years. Under his leadership, the chapter has received consistent national four-star rankings and several SPJ Region 1 chapter recognitions.

Students praise Loop for consistently working well beyond the job description for a professor, helping students inside and beyond the classroom. “His distinct appreciation for the achievements of his former students and genuine desire to see his current students succeed is a rarity,” explained Maya Kachroo-Levine, a journalism student at Ithaca College.

Beyond his campus chapter leadership, Loop has been involved with SPJ nationally. He has served four years as Campus Adviser At-Large and two years as Vice President for Campus Chapter Affairs, and has been a board member for the Sigma Delta Chi Foundation, the educational arm of SPJ.

Loop will be honored Sept. 26 at the Student Union reception during the Excellence in Journalism 2011 conference in New Orleans, co-hosted by SPJ and the Radio Television Digital News Association.

Founded in 1909 as Sigma Delta Chi, SPJ promotes the free flow of information vital to a well-informed citizenry; works to inspire and educate the next generation of journalists; and protects First Amendment guarantees of freedom of speech and press. For more information on SPJ, please visit www.spj.org.

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