An ISU teacher known for his commitment to journalism excellence was recently awarded for his devotion to student publications.Mark Witherspoon, adjunct instructor of journalism and mass communication and editorial adviser to the Iowa State Daily and Ethos magazine, received the Gold Key Award from the Columbia Scholastic Press Association. Witherspoon received the award on Feb. 16 and said it has made his time and effort worthwhile.”This is what I like to do most — to try to educate future journalists,” he said.It is difficult not to get directly involved with student media as an adviser, Witherspoon said, because of his past as a reporter and editor at the Wichita Falls Record-News and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.”My roles vary from defender, supporter, teacher, educator and friend,” he said. “I work with the editors to try to give them advice when they seek it.”Before coming to Iowa State in the fall of 1999, Witherspoon was the student media adviser and adjunct professor at Southern Methodist University from 1990 to 1999.He was also director of student publications and journalism faculty member at Texas Christian University from 1987 to 1990. “This is the first public school I’ve taught at,” he said. “At private universities, First Amendment rights end. My job there was to educate the importance of the First Amendment.”First Amendment rights have been significant to Witherspoon throughout his years teaching. He was elected president of College Media Advisers in 1997 and started the CMA Adviser Advocate program.”When you are the adviser of a newspaper, you sometimes get into situations where the newspaper prints certain things, and you get blamed for it,” he said. “[The university] will punish the adviser by either firing them or docking their pay. We investigate those cases, and would then come in to educate and to mediate with the university.”Tom Emmerson, professor of journalism and mass communication, said Witherspoon is easy to work with.”I think it’s his Texas charm that I like the most about him,” he said. “The students identify with him, and he makes himself widely available to them.”Katie Boes, sophomore in journalism and mass communication, also said Witherspoon is very helpful. As a student last fall in JLMC 202, Intermediate Reporting and Writing for the Mass Media, Boes said she was unsure of herself in the beginning, but Witherspoon helped her when she came for direction. “I didn’t have much confidence in writing and reporting,” she said. “But he supported me 100 percent — he wanted me to do the best that I could.”