Saturday, April 13, 2024
6:30–9 p.m.

Heights Rooftop at the Courtyard by Marriott
901 Melrose Ave.
Iowa City, Iowa 52246

Registration is closed. Please call 319-335-3305 if you need any assistance with registration.

Join the UI School of Journalism and Mass Communication as we celebrate 100 years of excellence and explore the future of journalism and mass communication education and practice.

Learn about on-going initiatives in SJMC and see the exciting work happening on campus and in our community.

Suggested dress: semi-formal/formal

Keynote Speaker: 

Maudlyne Ihejirika, "The future of journalism and storytelling: Putting community first" 

Maudlyne

Maudlyne is an award-winning, 29-year Chicago Sun-Times Reporter and Columnist, most recently penning its “Chicago Chronicles” column on racial, social and economic justice issues. Retiring from the Sun-Times November 2022, she now covers racial equity issues for national publications, serves as a TV political analyst, and oversees journalism grants for the Field Foundation of Illinois.

Author of the 2016 memoir, “Escape From Nigeria: A Memoir of Faith, Love and War,” she is a sought after speaker who has provided university commencement speeches and holds an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Saint Xavier University. She is Immediate Past President of both the Chicago Journalists Association and the National Association of Black Journalists Chicago Chapter, and was inducted into the Hall of Achievement at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism in 2020, and the Hall of Fame at the University of Iowa School of Journalism and Mass Communication in 2018.

A frequent guest contributor on FOX-32’s “Good Day Chicago,” she has appeared on outlets from the BBC to CNN, MSNBC to PBS, ABC and CBS TV networks and NPR radio. Her numerous professional and civic honors include the prestigious Studs Terkel Award and many writing and impact awards from the Society of Professional Journalists, Associated Press, Illinois Press Association and National Association of Black Journalists. In 2019, she was ranked among an annual list of “The 25 Most Powerful Women in Chicago Journalism.” She is a member of Northwestern's prestigious Council of 100, UIowa's SJMC Professional Advisory Board, and a proud member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. 

Featured Speakers: 

  • President Barbara Wilson, University of Iowa

  • Dean Sara Sanders, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

  • Mark Mathis, Professional Advisory Board President

  • Sabine Martin, Student Advisory Board Chair