UM Journalism Professor Named NewsPro Educator of the Year

The University of Mississippi’s Meek School of Journalism and New Media has been recognized as a school of top educators for the second year in a row.
Nancy Dupont, professor of journalism, earned the honor of top journalism educator by Crain’s NewsPro magazine earlier this year. She was recognized along with nine other teachers from universities around the country, including Syracuse, Columbia and Northwestern universities and the University of Georgia.
“This award proves the Meek School is among the best in the nation,” Dupont said. “Our faculty are being recognized nationally for the great things they do. Anytime any of us is honored, we share the spotlight with our colleagues.”
Dupont joined the journalism faculty at Ole Miss in 2006 after spending much of her career working in broadcast news in New Orleans.
She teaches journalism students about the broadcast news industry and is the adviser for NewsWatch Ole Miss, a student-led news broadcast. She said she spends most of her time in the Student Media Center because she loves the daily hustle and bustle of the newsroom.
“The students’ storytelling and assembling a newscast keeps me energized,” she said. “I couldn’t imagine being anywhere else.”
The magazine cited Dupont’s passion for mentoring students and putting “her heart and soul” into working with students on the NewsWatch broadcast.
“She’s there every day coaching and mentoring, and her ideas for special projects, such as covering the 10th anniversary of Katrina from the Mississippi coast, have given students amazing opportunities to hone their crafts,” NewsPro noted.
Debora Wenger, the school’s assistant dean for innovation and external partnerships, earned the same recognition from the magazine in 2017.
“Professor Dupont is the type of faculty member the Meek School touts as being the kind of person who attract students to the university,” said Will Norton, UM journalism dean. “She publishes in journals and writes books and chapters in books, she advises students intensely and she is a conscientious classroom teacher who spends long hours outside the classroom with students.
“She is dedicated to communicating and infusing her students with everything she knows about being a top professional. We are grateful for her commitment to our students in the Meek School.”

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Staff Report
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