Two distinguished scholastic journalism leaders named to the NSPA-ACP Board of Directors
Jeanne Acton of Texas, journalism director of the University Interscholastic League, and Laurie Hansen of Minnesota, a 25-year adviser and leading voice among Minnesota high school journalism educators, joined the National Scholastic Press Association-Associated Collegiate Press Board of Directors this month.
“Jeanne and Laurie have each demonstrated consistent leadership, a passion for youth journalism and commitment to best practices and partnerships,” said board President Al Tims, Ph.D. “They join a board whose members have deep expertise and are proactive and engaged.”
Jeanne Acton
Acton started at the University Interscholastic League, one of the largest scholastic press programs in the nation, in 2004. In addition to UIL journalism director, she is director of the Interscholastic League Press Conference, which sponsors yearbook, broadcast, and print and online newspaper competitions for Texas middle and high schools.
Acton started her journalism career as a sophomore in high school when she heard the Journalism I class was a blow-off. It was not. She loved the work and stayed for the next three years, working her way up to editor-in-chief of the Duncanville High School newspaper, Panther Prints.
After high school, Acton earned her bachelor’s degree in journalism and master’s in educational administration from the University of Texas at Austin. During her undergraduate studies, Acton worked for the Daily Texan, the UT student newspaper. She started as a designer and reporter and finished her four-year stint as the managing editor.
After a short run at a community newspaper and a few internships, Jeanne started teaching journalism. During her decade of teaching, she advised newspaper, broadcast, and yearbook programs and coached softball at Lyndon Baines Johnson High School in Austin, Texas. As the newspaper adviser, her students won top awards at both the state and national level.
After a decade in the classroom, Acton was an assistant principal for three years.
These days, when Acton isn’t in the classroom as part of her UIL leadership role, she continues to teach writing and still practices the trade on a regular basis. She both freelances and keeps a semi-regular blog. Her most recent story is about her neighbor, a young mother of two, who died after a very brief battle with cancer.
Acton is married to John Shanks, and the couple has two boys, Charlie and Joey.
Laurie Hansen
Laurie Hansen, a certified journalism educator, has advised the Kabekonian yearbook and Stylus creative arts magazine at Stillwater (Minn.) Area High School for 25 years. She also advised the Pony Express newspaper for ten years. She has fought battles over censorship and lived to tell the tale.
Her staff’s publications have won state and national NSPA Pacemaker and Best of Show awards as well as Crown awards from the Columbia Scholastic Press Association. Hansen teaches Journalism and English 12.
Hansen serves as the Minnesota state director for Journalism Education Association, president of Journalism Educators of Minnesota and served as the co-chair of the 2011 JEA/NSPA Fall National High School Journalism Convention that was held in Minneapolis. Hansen is an NSPA Pioneer and a past Journalism Educator of the year.
She has a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, and master’s degree from St. Cloud (Minn.) State University.
Hansen also freelances, and her latest piece was a first person account of her latest trip to Nepal, Bhutan and Tibet, which included a hike to the North Face Everest Base Camp.
Acton and Hansen succeed Monica Hill of North Carolina and Tim Dorway of Minnesota.
They join current NSPA-ACP board members Dr. Tims; Christopher J. Ison, University of Minnesota; Peter Bobkowski, Ph.D., University of Kansas; Laura York Guy, Garden City (Kan.) Community College; Ron Johnson, Indiana University; Valerie Kibler, Harrisonburg (Va.) High School; Seth Lewis, Ph.D., University of Minnesota; Sara Quinn, Ball State University and affiliate, Poynter Institute; and Ann Visser, retired from Pella (Iowa) Community High School.
The National Scholastic Press Association, home of the Pacemaker, was founded in 1921. A 501(c)3 organization, it includes the Associated Collegiate Press and Minnesota High School Press Association. All are steadfast in their mission to serve student media and advisers, introduce new ideas and reinforce best practices, reward excellence, embrace diversity, and provide ample networking and partnership opportunities.