2020
Alane Lee Presswood
Position Description
Every day, the news informs the public about the world’s most serious problems. This is vitally important—but it’s not enough. Around the globe, people are also making progress against seemingly intractable issues. Too often, these stories are missing from the news. This one-sided approach doesn’t capture reality and has resulted in disengagement and despair. Imagine a world where, every day, people are informed not only about problems, but also about the ways in which people and communities are effectively responding to them. This is what solutions journalism is all about. Telling the whole story. Solutions journalism restores trust in news, strengthens participatory democracy, reveals credible avenues for hope, and holds public officials accountable by showing where and how people are doing better. The Higher Education Program Specialist, will build a community of practice among educators, catalyze the development of a new curriculum that uses solutions stories to inspire and advance the thinking of students across a wide range of disciplines, develop educational opportunities with partners beyond academia, and foster new relationships to support the integration of solutions journalism as a tool for higher education.