Blackburn Institute

Pulitzer Prize recipient David Shribman to lecture

January 7, 2008

The Blackburn Institute and the Department of Political Science present Pulitzer Prize recipient David Shribman for a public lecture. Shribman’s public lecture titled “The New Architecture of Journalism” will discuss the future of newspapers with an emphasis on how newspapers will respond to the competition from weblogs and other sources of alternative media. The event will be held on Tuesday, January 29 in Gorgas Library Room 205 from 6:00-7:00 pm. Please call 205-348-3277 with further questions.

Shribman became executive editor of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Feb. 3, 2003. He came to Pittsburgh from The Boston Globe where he was assistant managing editor, columnist and Washington bureau chief.

Shribman was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in journalism in 1995 for his coverage of Washington and the American political scene.

A regular panelist on the PBS show “Washington Week in Review,” Shribman is also a frequent analyst for BBC radio. His “I Remember My Teacher,” a tribute to the nation’s great educators, was published in April 2002. He has lectured at universities and colleges around the country.

Shribman joined The Boston Globe after serving as national political correspondent for The Wall Street Journal. Prior to that, he covered Congress and national politics for The New York Times and was a member of the national staff of The Washington Star. A native of Salem, Massachusetts, he began his career at The Buffalo Evening News, where he worked on the city staff before being assigned to the paper’s Washington bureau.

Graduating summa cum laude from Dartmouth College in 1976, Shribman was a member of the Phi Beta Kappa honor society. He did graduate work at Cambridge University, England, as a James Reynolds Scholar.

Shribman is an emeritus member of the Board of Trustees of Dartmouth College and of the Board of Visitors of the Nelson A. Rockefeller Center for the Social Sciences at Dartmouth.

Born in 1954, Shribman has been married to Cindy Skrzycki, a Washington Post financial columnist, for 25 years. They live in Pittsburgh with their two daughters, Elizabeth and Natalie.

Student Fellow Crowned Miss UA

December 12, 2007

On the night of December 8th, Meri-Glenn Freeman, a 2007-2008 Blackburn Fellow, was crowned Miss University of Alabama 2008. Freeman, a junior from Vestavia Hills, is majoring in political science and public relations. Freeman’s future plans include attending law school and working with public policy within Alabama.

“Target Tutoring” is Freeman’s Miss America community service platform. “Target Tutoring” is an after school mentoring program for at-risk children. She works through the University Honors Program and has been with the program and these children for six semesters. Freeman serves as a student intern. She plans, coordinates, and runs the after school programs in three elementary schools in Tuscaloosa: Cottondale, Matthews, and Holt. Freeman said, “The program has netted remarkable results by helping to not only improve these children’s academics, but also help them set higher ambitions and goals for their own lives.” Freeman will continue to promote her platform in Tuscaloosa County, as well as in other schools across the state.

Freeman says that the Blackburn Institute has helped to fuel her own passion for the state of Alabama, especially her passion for the need for improvement in Alabama’s education system. Freeman said, “I have learned in depth about the troubles and obstacles facing our school systems, especially in poverty stricken areas.” She feels that the events, networks, and opportunities provided by the Blackburn Institute have truly helped her to serve her campus, community, and state better.

Freeman will receive a full tuition scholarship for her year of service as Miss University of Alabama, as well as book scholarships and numerous gifts. In June, she will go on to represent UA at the Miss Alabama Pageant in Birmingham, a Miss America preliminary program.

Travel Experience: Northport

November 1, 2007

Click here to see pictures of the travel experience.

by Megan Courington, 2007-2008 Student Fellow

The Northport travel experience really helped me, as a Blackburn Fellow, to understand what the Blackburn Institute is all about. I had always heard about these travel experiences, and I could not wait for my turn to go. This one adventure was beneficial to me in so many ways.

This particular travel experience was a local, or mini-travel, experience, if you will. The day began by Fellows loading on a bus and driving to have lunch in Northport at the Front Porch Restaurant. We enjoyed our delicious country fixins and then headed to Northport City Hall. The Mayor of Northport, Harvey Fretwell, members of the Northport City Council, and the Northport Police Chief, Robert Green greeted us when we arrived. Each of our distinguished guests spoke to us about their job and impact on the city. The panel discussed with us the changes that the future holds for downtown Northport. Mayor Fretwell and the City Council are looking to bringing new development to downtown Northport. We, as Fellows, were extremely interested in this concept of new development since Northport is so close to campus. This panel was great informative though we left not knowing the real issues in Northport. Mayor Fretwell was determined to make us believe that everything in Northport was perfect. We left City Hall anxious to ask the next panel questions about all that the mayor said.

Our next stop our on travel experience was to the Kentuck Art Museum where Sara Anne Gibson shared the history of downtown Northport and the locally owned businesses. The area was very quaint and interesting to see. The museum itself had many interesting pieces of art some of which we could pick up and play with ourselves. Because of the cold weather moving in we did not take a walk through the city streets but we could tell how close the community was from the citizens passing by the courtyard where Sara Anne spoke. In our questioning of Sara Anne and other business leaders, they shied away from answering the questions, even saying at one point that she had worked really hard to get the relationship with the city council and she did not want to say anything that would jeopardize that relationship.

The group left Northport heading to Camp Tuscoba for the late night discussion not knowing the complete story about Northport but it was a mini-travel experience. The best part of the trip was learning what the Blackburn Institute was really about. I have read the material and have heard the message but when we were shown what Blackburn was in Northport, I really understood the vision. It also prepared us for what was to come on the Burt Jones Rural Travel Experience to Mt. Vernon; seeing the old fellow in action while asking tough questions was a huge help in preparing for all of our events.

Blackburn Fellow India Williams honored by Tuscaloosa City Council

September 19, 2007

The Tuscaloosa City Council named September 12, 2007 “India Williams Day” for India’s work as a Blackburn Daniel Scholar. India has worked with ministers of different faiths to address the healthcare crisis confronting uninsured and underinsured citizens of Tuscaloosa.

A Quiet Fellow Reflects on Blackburn Experience

June 15, 2007

Like many student fellows, I entered the Blackburn Institute with great ambitions of who I was going to be—a great prosecutor—and what I was going to do. Life takes its own twists and turns, however, and I find myself preparing myself not to go to law school but to seminary, brushing up not on legal jargon but on Spanish, as foreign missions are my calling.

I confess that this dramatic shift in interests left me wondering what I could contribute or even learn from Blackburn. I grew increasingly quieter as I realized that I did not have much to offer on the state’s transportation or economic development. I realized, however, that while the group’s focus is and always should be changing Alabama, lessons learned from Blackburn have a universal appeal. Networking, sustained dialogue, and a contagious passion for improving the lives of other people are all tools we can carry with us anywhere.

Whether we’re helping our hometown, home state, or new home in a new country, we all share Dr. Blackburn’s goal, which – edited to respect my future profession – is “change the darn state!”

While we are at it, why not change the darn planet too?

Abby Smith
2004-2005 Fellow

Abby graduated summa cum laude with a B.S. in Psychology and Spanish and a minor in the Blount Undergraduate Initiative in May 2007. She is currently serving as an intern and starting a young adult ministry at Stonebridge Church of God in Findlay, OH. In the fall of 2007 she will attend the Anderson University School of Theology in Anderson, IN to pursue a Master of Arts in Intercultural Service.