According to the SCJ constitution: ‘the dominant tradition of the Society for Collegiate Journalists is service. Because the Society stands for service, membership in it is not to be regarded as an honor in itself, but also as an opportunity for rendering greater service. Whatever traditions may accrue to the Society and its membership in the future, none shall ever supplant the tradition of service.’

While all journalism is technically driven by commitment to community service, this particular award aims to recognize leaders who demonstrate service beyond the norm. The Mary Beth Earnheardt Award for Service recognizes the importance of advancing community through: service projects; innovative, in-depth public affairs reporting projects; sustained awareness campaigns; or projects that require the reporter(s) to overcome major opposition.

Eligibility

• The recipient may be an individual student, adviser, professional or an entire student media staff
• Recipient must be a member of SCJ. If the nomination is for a full staff, the university must have an active SCJ chapter and chapter members must be part of the medium in question.
• The nomination must be based on a project, campaign, investigation, or challenge that the nominee(s) faced in the previous academic year.
• Self-nominations or nominations from media adviser will be accepted.