Posted by Mary Wimberley on 2003-08-27

Samford University journalism and mass communication professor Dennis R. Jones received this year's John H. Buchanan Award for Classroom Teaching at the school.

Dr. Jones received a silver tray and $1,000 check from Samford Provost Dr. Bradley Creed during Samford's semester-opening convocation Tuesday (AUG. 26).

Jones, who joined the Samford faculty in 1991, is the journalism department's print specialist. Besides teaching classes in writing and design for newspapers and magazines, he is editorial and advertising advisor to the Samford student newspaper, The Crimson, and is publishing director and originator of a student-produced magazine, Exodus.

Finalists for this year's award were nominated by members of last year's graduating class. Students who nominated him consistently referred to his caring attitude and willingness to help all who need it.

Last spring, he was named the Outstanding Journalism Educator in the South by the Southeast Journalism Conference. In addition to his teaching duties, he has served on many university committees.

An Ohio native, Jones earned a bachelor's degree from Manchester College and master's and Ph.D. degrees from the University of South Carolina.

Prior to joining the Samford faculty, he chaired the department of journalism at the University of Southern Mississippi, and also taught at the University of South Carolina and Radford University in Virginia. He has worked at several newspapers, including The Columbia Record and The State in South Carolina and the St. Petersburg Times in Florida.

The teaching award honors the late Dr. John H .Buchanan, who served 21 years as an active Samford trustee and continued to serve in an honorary capacity until his death in 1976. He was longtime pastor of Southside Baptist Church in Birmingham.

 

 
Samford is a leading Christian university offering undergraduate programs grounded in the liberal arts with an array of nationally recognized graduate and professional schools. Founded in 1841, Samford is the 87th-oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. Samford enrolls 6,101 students from 45 states, Puerto Rico and 16 countries in its 10 academic schools: arts, arts and sciences, business, divinity, education, health professions, law, nursing, pharmacy and public health. Samford fields 17 athletic teams that compete in the tradition-rich Southern Conference and ranks 6th nationally for its Graduation Success Rate among all NCAA Division I schools.