University of Arkansas School of Journalism and Strategic Media

205 Kimpel Hall, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas, USA

Overview

The School of Journalism and Strategic Media (SJSM) at the University of Arkansas is an ACEJMC-accredited journalism school located within the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville. Formerly known as the Walter J. Lemke Department of Journalism—and widely still referred to by the Lemke name among alumni and in the community—the school is one of the largest undergraduate programmes in the Fulbright College, with more than 900 enrolled students. It offers two undergraduate majors leading to a Bachelor of Arts degree: Journalism and Advertising and Public Relations. The Journalism major offers three concentrations—Journalism (news and editorial), Broadcast, and Multimedia and Digital Storytelling—as well as a minor in Journalism and Strategic Media and two microcertificates. A Master of Arts in Journalism is available for graduate students. The school is chaired by Bret Schulte, with Dave Bostwick serving as vice chair.

History and Founding

The journalism program at the University of Arkansas was established in 1930 by Walter J. Lemke, who founded it as a department of the university. Its first home was a repurposed dance hall and ROTC space on the first floor of Old Main — the university's historic central building. The bachelor's degree program followed in 1931, and J-Days (Journalism Days), the school's annual celebration connecting students with professional journalists, was also founded in 1931 by Lemke as one of the oldest continuous events of its kind in American journalism education. The department subsequently moved through several campus buildings, occupying an old dormitory known as Hill Hall before settling in the general classroom building now known as Kimpel Hall in the early 1970s. The school is named in honor of the Lemke legacy, and the Lemke Journalism Alumni Society remains an active partner in school events and fundraising.

A significant recent development was the construction and opening of the Sue Walk Burnett Center for Journalism and Student Media—a 3,500-square-foot purpose-built wing adjacent to Kimpel Hall's second floor that for the first time brought all facets of UA student media together under one roof: the Arkansas Traveler, UATV, Hill magazine, and the Razorback yearbook all share the same converged digital newsroom, control room, and television studio. The studio features a window backdrop to one of the busiest hubs on campus, giving student broadcasters a signature visual setting. The department also opened Red Hill Strategic Media, a student-staffed advertising agency operating as a practical learning lab for Advertising and Public Relations majors.

Academic Programs and Curriculum

The Journalism major's three concentrations address distinct career pathways. The Journalism Concentration delivers traditional news and editorial curriculum—reporting, editing, photojournalism, community journalism, long-form narrative, and media law and ethics—for students preparing for careers across print, digital, and investigative news. Signature courses include Enterprise Journalism, Magazine Writing (oriented toward The New Yorker and Atlantic-style long-form narrative, with student work frequently published in Hill magazine), and History of the Black Press. The Broadcast Concentration prepares students for careers in television, radio, and digital video news, with coursework in video news gathering, television news reporting and anchoring, and live newscast production using the UATV studio facilities. The Multimedia and Digital Storytelling concentration equips students for careers in video and audio production, corporate and nonprofit communications, and other forms of digital mass communication.

The Advertising and Public Relations major offers curriculum in publicity, advertising, marketing principles, public affairs, and strategic communication. Graduate students pursue the Master of Arts in Journalism through a traditional research thesis or a special project thesis, with areas of focus including multimedia storytelling, news narratives, and strategic media. Two micro-certificates—Strategic Media Skills and Writing for the Modern Mass Media—are available through the university's Global Campus for students and working professionals not enrolled in full degree programs.

SJSM places strong emphasis on media literacy as both a professional competency and a civic responsibility. The school defines media literacy as the ability to access, analyse, evaluate, and distribute accurate information across a wide range of technological and social contexts — and explicitly frames the school's role as custodians of the Fourth Estate, with a responsibility to equip both industry professionals and the broader public with tools to recognise and resist disinformation.

Student Media and Facilities

SJSM operates or closely supports a suite of student media outlets that provide hands-on professional experience throughout a student's degree. The Arkansas Traveler is the university's award-winning student newspaper, publishing in print and online; it placed first in the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) Mark of Excellence Awards for Best Newspaper in 2022. UATV is the student-operated television station, broadcasting from the Burnett Center studio and airing live nightly newscasts Monday through Thursday that are fully written, produced, and anchored by students; UATV's coverage of a Little Rock tornado in 2023 earned it the SPJ's national Mark of Excellence Award for Best All-Around Television Newscast. Hill is the school's nationally acclaimed student literary magazine, publishing long-form journalism, features, and narrative writing; it has won multiple SPJ Best Student Magazine awards. KXUA is the student radio station. Main Hill Media serves as the school's digital news platform. The Razorback is the university's student yearbook, recognised with an ACP Top 100 Pacemaker award in 2022.

Kimpel Hall houses three multimedia computer labs, the full UATV production suite, broadcast editing bays, faculty offices, and the converged student media newsroom. The school also runs an annual Journalism Days (J-Days) celebration each spring—a multi-day event featuring the Roy Reed Lecture (the school's named annual public lecture honoring distinguished journalists and educators), a scholarship reception, a job fair, and classroom visits from working professionals. J-Days was founded by Lemke in 1931 and is co-hosted with the Lemke Journalism Alumni Society.

Access and Usage

Prospective students can explore degree programs, concentrations, micro-certificates, and application information at journalism.uark.edu. The school's student media outlets are publicly accessible: the Arkansas Traveler at uatraveler.com, UATV via its Facebook page and Cox digital channel 214, Hill magazine in annual print and digital editions, and the Student Media newsletter at studentmedia.uark.edu. Graduate program enquiries and general contact can be directed to jour@uark.edu or by phone at 479-575-3601. Scholarship information, J-Days updates, and alumni news are managed through the Lemke Journalism Alumni Society at arkansasalumni.org/lemkesociety. The school is fully accredited by the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications (ACEJMC).

School of Journalism and Strategic Media (SJSM)
Formerly the Walter J. Lemke Department of Journalism
205 Kimpel Hall, University of Arkansas
Fayetteville, AR 72701, USA

Phone: 479-575-3601  |  Email: jour@uark.edu

Chair: Bret Schulte  |  Vice Chair: Dave Bostwick

Part of: J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, University of Arkansas

Website: journalism.uark.edu  |  Student Media: studentmedia.uark.edu

Arkansas Traveler: uatraveler.com  |  UATV: uatvnews.com

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