Gretchen Kemp

IU Journalism’s Gretchen A. Kemp awards are named in honor of Gretchen A. Kemp, a longtime faculty member in journalism and the director of the High School Journalism Institute. Kemp taught at journalism from 1948 to 1974.

Gretchen A. Kemp Teaching Fellowship

Kemp established the fellowship shortly before her death in 1987 to recognize and promote outstanding teaching in the program. A recipient is named each year based on nominations by colleagues, students and alumni, and a selection process that includes judges from outside journalism who are recognized teachers in their own right.

All full-time faculty members are eligible, with a few exceptions. Visiting professors, adjunct instructors and associate instructors are not eligible, nor are the three most recent recipients of the award. Although preference usually will be to junior faculty members in order to help them develop their teaching promise and effectiveness, the fellowship is to recognize and reward outstanding teaching at any rank.

Candidates must have achieved a record of effective teaching and counseling that demonstrates an ability to motivate students to be excited by the subject matter and to do excellent work, and a commitment to rigorous standards of instruction and evaluation. The record must also demonstrate that candidates have kept up with the latest developments in the subjects they teach. Candidates must have achieved this record in classroom teaching and/or in directing student projects, theses and dissertations.

The awards committee is responsible for narrowing the field of candidates to three. Should awards committee members be nominated, recent past winners of the fellowship will be asked to serve in this capacity.

The person receiving the fellowship will receive the award in recognition of outstanding teaching. Though encouraged to use the award to enhance excellence in teaching, no major project will be required of the Kemp Fellow.

Nominations are due in late December, with announcement of the winner during the program’s scholarship ceremony in April.

Gretchen A. Kemp Faculty Development Award

This award recognizes full-time journalism faculty for creativity and flexibility in teaching. Candidates submit individual or collaborative proposals for curriculum development and/or research about teaching.

The program awards committee will review proposals, collaborate with the fiscal officer and then make recommendations to the Dean. Awards will be announced at the end of April. The committee will ask individuals or teams awarded a grant to share relevant project artifacts or to present their work at the beginning of the fall semester.