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The Society of Professional Journalists this weekend announced that William Paterson University’s student chapter of SPJ, known on campus as WPSPJ, was selected as National Campus Chapter of the Year. WPSPJ clinched the top spot from among 108 chapters across the United States.
This marks the fourth time that WPSPJ has earned national recognition since its founding in 2017 by WP communication professor Nicholas Hirshon, who serves as the chapter's adviser. WPSPJ previously won national campus chapter of the year in 2020, and Professor Hirshon was named outstanding campus adviser in 2019 and 2021, becoming the first two-time recipient in the award's nearly half-century history.
Hirshon organized a wide array of programming for WPSPJ members in the 2022-2023 academic year, including tours of the Al Jazeera bureau at the United Nations, 1010 WINS radio station, The Record, and Newsday, as well as several on-campus discussions with guest journalists and another 23 such meetings via Zoom.
This past academic year, WPSPJ also launched the first podcast by an SPJ campus chapter, wherein members interview journalists from major news outlets.
Additionally, WPSPJ hosted two journalism panels on campus that included journalists from The Athletic, Axios, PIX 11, “Inside Edition,” USA Today, and more. WPSPJ also partnered with the SPJ chapter at Roger Williams University in Rhode Island to cohost a long-distance workshop on diversity in journalism.
"William Paterson's SPJ chapter has consistently been a regional and national leader, advocating for journalists and journalism," said SPJ regional director Chris Vaccaro. "Sure, they earn awards and have received recognition, but what's more important is their impact on campus and in the industry. The amount of programming and professional development done has set an example for how other SPJ student chapters should operate.”
The 2022-2023 WPSPJ executive board:
President: Angelica Amegashie ‘23
Vice-President: Rochelle Estrada ‘24
Secretary: Andrew Herbst ‘25
Treasurer: Angela Amegashie ‘23
Publicity Chair: Rayah Hammad ‘23
Graduate Student Liaison: Beatrice Amune ‘23
10/04/23
