Manship School Professor Lou Day Takes Top Honors with National Teaching Award
Eight
students wanted to graduate from the Manship School of Mass Communication
in August several years ago but needed to take Professor Lou Day’s
media law course before receiving their diplomas. Day offered to teach the
course, usually offered only in the spring or fall, during the summer. In
addition, he told the dean he would teach it for free since he would be
at the University doing research.
That kind of dedication to students and the school earned him the prestigious Journalism Teacher of the Year award from the Scripps Howard Foundation this spring. The Scripps Howard Foundation National Journalism Awards honor the best in print, Web, electronic journalism, and journalism education every year.
The foundation selected Day for his “passion for teaching, selfless mentoring, and helping students think and analyze ethical dilemmas. A dedicated faculty member at LSU for 25 years, he is the author of a ‘gold standard’ ethics textbook. He receives high marks from students and from the junior faculty who look to him as a mentor."
The students and faculty at the Manship School can attest to that.
“Everyone knows he puts the school, students, and colleagues above himself,” said John Maxwell Hamilton, dean of the Manship School of Mass Communication.
A Teacher of Excellence
Most mornings find Professor Louis A. Day working in his office well before 6 a.m. While Day’s to-do list includes plenty of research, mentoring, and management tasks, nothing interests him more than teaching students. His favorite lecture involves libel law and defamation of character because it raises First Amendment and other constitutional issues and allows students to discuss the media’s legal responsibilities.
“My approach is quite simple,” said Day. “I establish standards of excellence, challenge students to aspire to those standards, and provide consistent and meaningful feedback.”
Day mostly teaches undergraduate lecture courses. But do not expect that the size of the class lightens the load for his students. He insists that they participate in class discussion. Every semester, he requires ethics students to write 10 papers and his media law students to write five papers and 47 briefs. Day holds himself to the same standards.
“Regardless of the time required, I grade each paper and examination thoroughly, and in 32 years of teaching have never failed to return a student paper or exam at the next class meeting,” he said. Day said if somebody ever expected him to do less, he would not know how because high standards are so much a part of his life.
While Day’s infamously lengthy syllabus, which sometimes tops 16 pages, may astonish his students, it sets out his expectation in precise detail. “He demands continuous and dedicated hard work from his students,” said Ralph Izard, professor in the Manship School. “The result is they rise to his challenge. They see that he expects them to learn. And they appreciate and respect his willingness to work with them as much as possible to assure their success.”
Individual counseling is another cornerstone of Day’s philosophy. He strongly encourages students to ask for his help. “In my judgment, this kind of commitment enhances the students’ respect for the instructor and promotes student-teacher rapport,” said Day.
The 61-year-old Day, a graduate of the University of Georgia and Ohio University, honed his teaching philosophy over 32 years. But he works hard to stay informed about new media issues. He said he updates and refreshes his lectures regularly to maintain credibility with his students.
Every semester Day also touches thousands of students he has never met. He authored Ethics in Media Communications: Cases and Controversies, widely considered the premier textbook for media ethics. About 110 colleges and universities worldwide use the book.
“He has influenced the lives of literally thousands of young people who know him as a role model and as a classroom presence who insisted they learn the facts of his classes, develop the critical thinking skills to use those facts effectively, and carry into their lives the kinds of dedicated study habits that contribute to their success,” said Izard. ”Lou Day is a teacher in the strongest sense of the word.”
The Heart of a Mentor
When a Manship School Ph.D. student asked who she should choose as a major professor, Dean Hamilton’s immediate response was, “If you want to go through your program without a hitch and if you want your dissertation to be excellent, you want Lou Day.”
Day provides help outside the classroom, frequently guiding students on a career path. Graduates return to him for additional help long after they have left LSU.
“I have the opportunity and responsibility of influencing not only their minds but also their professional careers,” said Day.
And it is not just students who seek out Day’s counsel. Faculty members – both junior and senior – regularly turn to him for advice about classroom organization and presentation. As chairman of the school’s promotion and tenure committee, Day provides specific, individual mentoring to junior faculty hoping to earn tenure, counseling about 10 colleagues each semester on their teaching and research.
Leadership at LSU and beyond
In his 25 years at the Manship School, Day has held almost every job there is at one time or another.
“He is always willing to step in and do anything that has to be done,” said Hamilton. “He has been acting director, associate dean for both graduate and undergraduate studies, the chair of most of the school’s committees, and a member of nearly every important committee on campus.”
Day’s influence extends well beyond LSU and the Manship School. His research has influenced the journalism community both academically and professionally. Day has led countless training sessions for international journalists and discussions about teaching methods at regional and national conventions. His research articles or papers often have teaching as an essential part of their content.
About the Scripps Howard Foundation's National Journalism Awards
The Scripps Howard Foundation's National Journalism Awards, open to all U.S. news organizations and college journalism educators, recognize excellence in 17 categories, including journalism education. The awards also honor distinguished service to the First Amendment. The Scripps Howard Foundation is the philanthropic arm of The E.W. Scripps Company.
"Scripps Howard Foundation's National Journalism Awards celebrate and honor great work by American media and the important part journalists play in a free and democratic society," said Judith G. Clabes, Foundation president and chief executive officer. "The entries -- and the winners -- this year are incredible examples of the high level of journalism being practiced in this country.
Day received $10,000 and the Charles E. Scripps award. The Manship School also received a $5,000 grant. The award is given in cooperation with the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, the Knight Foundation and the Freedom Forum.
The Scripps Howard Foundation is dedicated to improving journalism. Their programs include an internship grants program, Scripps Howard School of Journalism and Communications at Hampton University, "Semester in Washington" experience for student journalists, and Top 10 Scholarships for outstanding collegiate journalists.
Contributing Writer, Allison Kurpius
| LSUManship School of Mass Communication
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Summer 2006
