Department of English
Journalism and Sports Program
Director: Ron Thomas
Office: Brawley Hall 200
Telephone: (404)681-2800, ext. 2170
rthomas@morehouse.edu
Mission/Description
The Journalism and Sports Program at Morehouse
College is one of the few journalism programs in
the nation that emphasizes sports reporting. The
program is uniquely designed to give students a critical
look at the wide range of issues related to journalism
and athletics through classroom instruction and exposure
to award-winning reporters, authors, coaches and
athletes. These experts will share their knowledge and discuss the challenges they have overcome in the newsroom
and press box, or on the playing field.
In January 2007, the Journalism and Sports Program
launched with its first course offerings. The program, initiated
with seed money donated by alumnus and award-winning
director Shelton “Spike” Lee ’79, provides students
with a solid academic foundation in print journalism. It
includes a multidisciplinary emphasis on political, sociological,
economic and philosophical issues in general, and a
one-of-a-kind “think tank” approach to sports.
Through a series of lectures and conferences—such
as the November 2006 forum that introduced the program
to the public and the “Forum on the Black
Athlete” held in May 2007 that featured some of the
biggest names in sports—students will participate in
discussions about the under representation of African Americans in sports media as compared to those on the field and court.
The program is currently housed as a concentration
(15 credit hours) within the English department,
and will expand into a minor (five to seven journalism-related
courses).
