Here are some prizes and continuing education programs at Columbia that I would like to alert you about.

1.   When Veterans Come Home: A Workshop for Working Journalists

The Columbia Graduate School of Journalism is collaborating with the Dart Center on Journalism and Trauma and the Carter Center Mental Health Program to offer a workshop on “When Veterans Come Home: A Workshop for Working Journalists” on Jan. 7-9, 2010 at the Carter Center in Atlanta, Ga.  The workshop will address the special challenges facing local and regional news organizations seeking to improve their coverage of critical issues facing returning veterans, with a special emphasis on journalists in communities with high concentrations of veterans or military families. Former First Lady Rosalynn Carter will be the opening speaker.

The workshop is underwritten by generous grants from the McCormick Foundation and the Carter Center Mental Health Program.  All selected participants will receive a full scholarship to cover travel, hotel and workshop registration and materials.

Application Deadline: November 20, 2009

Application Information: http://dartcenter.org/content/workshop-when-veterans-return

2. Want to Get Smarter About Your Work? Become a Punch Sulzberger News Media Executive Leadership Fellow

The Columbia School of Journalism is seeking applicants from news organization leaders for the Punch Sulzberger News Media Executive Leadership Program fourth year, which starts January 25, 2010. (See http://www.sulzbergerleadership.com)

This program springs from a simple observation:  Leaders in the news business grow as they themselves tackle their companies’ most critical business challenges. The program is offered to 20 high-ranking executives over a 12-month period. During that time, the participants learn to use strategy, innovation, and other critical approaches to undertake challenges confronting their companies. We spread classes over four sessions of 3-5 days at the Columbia campus. The program is augmented with peer learning, business advisors, specific assignments, and tailored content – all designed to achieve a project or workplace challenge that participants bring to the program.  For more information, contact Associate Dean Arlene Morgan at am494@Columbia.edu or at 212-854-5377. She can put you in touch with editors from the Providence Journal, the Christian Science Monitor, ABC, the Associated Press as well as some start-up digital media leaders who have completed this unique leadership initiative. Application  deadline is Nov. 20.

3. Seeking Entries for John H. Oakes Award for Environmental Reporting

The deadline for entries for the John H. Oakes Award has been extended to Nov. 20, 2009 and now includes original stand-alone online work and websites that accompany newsprint projects.    The winner receives a $5,000 prize and trip to New York’s Columbia Graduate School of Journalism to appear on a panel on environmental reporting issues.   The story can be a single topic or series, published between October 1, 2008 and September 30, 2009.  A series must be designated as such by the publication when it is printed. A regular column may also be submitted as a series.  An entry form and additional information are located at the Columbia Journalism School website at www.journalism.columbia.edu under Oakes Award.   For more information, contact Lisa Redd, program director, at lsr21@Columbia.edu or 212-854-6468.