UBC j-school gets $1 million gift for new course

The University of British Columbia’s Graduate School of Journalism will launch an international reporting course that will send students overseas to cover under-reported issues.

This course is made possible by a one million dollar gift from Vancouver-based philanthropist Alison Lawton.

Lawton runs the Mindset Social Innovation Foundation, a “non-profit dedicated to investing in social development and building awareness around important and under-covered global issues.”

Mary Lynn Young, director and associate professor at the j-school said in a news release:

“We need in-depth journalism more than ever and this course offers students an opportunity to work with some of the best journalism faculty in North America.”

The course will be lead by Peter W. Klein, former 60 Minutes producer who joined the UBC faculty in 2007. The course will allow ten students to travel abroad and produce international journalism for major media outlets.

Lawton said:

“This new course is a vehicle to inspire people to think, feel and act differently towards some of the most pressing issues of our time. My core philosophy has always been working with people, investing in human capital. This course will challenge students to look beyond the constraints of conventional mainstream media and examine the definition of conscientious reporting.”