HIGH POINT, N.C., April 5, 2012 – High Point University students recently had the opportunity to hear from Cynthia Gorney, professor of journalism at the University of California at Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism and former reporter at The Washington Post, who discussed a riveting journalism project of hers that attracted global attention: The heartbreaking, age-old ritual of children as young as 8 years old becoming brides in countries such as Afghanistan, Yemen and Ethiopia.
Also speaking to the HPU audience was Jon Sawyer, founder and director of The Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, an innovative, award-winning nonprofit journalism organization dedicated to supporting independent international journalism. Sawyer discussed the work of photographer Stephanie Sinclair, who worked with Gorney on the child marriage series.
Gorney and Sawyer visited the HPU campus as part of the Pulitzer Center’s Campus Consortium – which includes three Triad-area colleges – as part of a two-year agreement with the Pulitzer Center that will bring top foreign correspondents to the Triad twice a year.
“It’s important for HPU students to hear about and understand critical issues around the world,” said Wilfred Tremblay, dean of the Nido R. Qubein School of Communication at High Point University. “By being able to interact with top-tier journalists, our students gain a greater perspective of what it takes to pursue independent, international reporting. Events like these help our students become better communicators and better global citizens.”
The Consortium also provides a fellowship at each school to support students who are intent on pursuing overseas stories under the mentorship of Pulitzer-sponsored reporters. Following the presentation, Andrew Faust, a senior at HPU majoring in communication and biology, was awarded a $2,000 reporting fellowship from High Point University and the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting.
The Pulitzer Center’s Campus Consortium is a growing network of more than a dozen universities and colleges aimed at raising awareness of systemic international concerns often underreported on in U.S. media and at considering the local links to these issues. For more information on the Pulitzer Center, visit http://pulitzercenter.org.
At High Point University, every student receives an extraordinary education in an inspiring environment with caring people.℠ HPU, located in the Piedmont Triad region of North Carolina, is a liberal arts institution with over 4,200 undergraduate and graduate students at campuses in High Point and Winston-Salem. It is ranked by US News and World Report at No. 3 among Regional Colleges in the South. Parade Magazine lists HPU in the top 25 private schools in the nation. HPU was selected in the 2010-2011 list of “Colleges of Distinction,” as well as one of the top green schools in the country by the Sierra Club. The university offers 44 undergraduate majors, 40 undergraduate minors and 10 graduate degree programs. It is a member of the NCAA, Division I and the Big South Conference. Visit High Point University on the Web at highpoint.edu.
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Pam Haynes
Communication Specialist
336-841-9055
[email protected]