The Department of Journalism and Mass Communication at Iowa State has been awarded a $75,000 grant to bring professional journalists into the classroom.

The Freedom Forum Journalist-in-Residence program notified department faculty of the honor by phone on Monday. Official results are expected to be sent later describing the other winners and the specifics of the award, said John Eighmey, chairman of the journalism department.

The Freedom Forum works to promote freedom of the press and excellence in journalism. Only three of these national awards were given annually.

In April, a proposal written by ISU professors James Emmerson, Giles Fowler and Richard Haws was sent into the competition. It outlined the journalism department, described how professionals could enhance classwork and also mentioned specific names of journalists who had the desired qualifications for the position.

Eighmey said two details of the proposal intrigued the sponsors of the competition.

The award was originally created to have one professional work on campus; however, the ISU proposal offered two journalists who would benefit the program, he said. The two journalists who were chosen to broaden ISU educational concepts are Gary Gerlach, publisher of the Ames Daily Tribune, and Michael Gartner, the Pulitzer Prize-winning editor of the Daily Tribune.

“The men represent both sides of the journalism world,” Eighmey said. “Gerlach works on the business side of newspaper production, while Gartner shows the craft of the journalist.”

Gartner, who is in New York this week, said he likes ISU students and was pleased to hear that the department received the grant. Some of the money received may go into student scholarships, he added.

“Some of the grant money was directed to pay for teaching, but we plan to put that money into a scholarship foundation,” he said.

The second twist the ISU proposal included was the theme of community journalism that would be intrinsic to the program, Eighmey said. The theme will also be used for a fall conference of Iowa community college journalism educators.

“The theme is important because the news helps to define the community and works to develop an agenda for the future,” he said.

Gerlach and Gartner will work together to have a full-time impact on the students of the department. Next week, official decisions will be made as to what classes the professionals will be teaching.

“The fact that ISU was awarded this grant is an indicator of the stature and national visibility of our department,” Eighmey said. “I am excited about the impact it will have upon the students.”