ASU’s Cronkite School and NEWSWELL Host the 2025 Solutions Journalism Educator Academy

Pictured: Alex Reed, project manager, and Candice Mays, project director, of Mapping Black California. 
Photo: Sharon Bloyd-Peshkin
 

Fifteen educators from colleges and universities across the United States gathered in July 2025 at the Los Angeles campus of the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University to explore ways to teach solutions journalism and incorporate it into college media projects, particularly on topics relating to student mental health and climate change. The Academy was co-hosted by the Solutions Journalism Network, ASU — one of the five Solutions Journalism University Hubs — and NEWSWELL, a nonprofit supporting local newsrooms that was launched by ASU.

Among the highlights:

• NEWSWELL leaders Christina Leonard, Julia Thompson and Venita Hawthorne James provided insights on teaching students how to do special projects, incorporating solutions journalism into newsletters, setting up semester-long projects, and building a sustainable solutions journalism structure.
• Pepperdine University professors Elizabeth Smith and Theresa de los Santos presented the challenges and successes of their students’ nine-part series about the impact of climate change on campus mental health.
• Candice Mays and Alex Reed of Mapping Black California explained how they use a solutions-driven focus on data to address systemic inequities for Black residents and organizations, and how they collaborate to distribute data results to those who need it.
• Participants competed in the Solutions Pitch Challenge, teaming up to put forward one solutions journalism project that could be implemented on one of their campuses. A panel of judges provided feedback and a reward for the top pitch by Colleen Steffen of Franklin College: two coaching sessions from the Solutions Journalism Network.

Between sessions, participants toured the historic Herald Examiner Building, now ASU California Center Broadway, which was built in 1914 for William Randolph Hearst. They also had time to network and reflect.

Educator Academies are held every summer. Be the first to know about upcoming events and opportunities by subscribing to our newsletters, which include Above the Fold for journalists and Making the Grade for educators.