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CAFNR welcomes new Ag Journalism Coordinator April 28, 2004 - Bill Allen will officially be starting his new position as CAFNR Ag Journalism Coordinator on June 1. He will be filling the position left by Marilyn Cummins, who is leaving CAFNR to start an independent business. "It's hard to explain how invigorating teaching is," Allen said. "I enjoy helping people learn, and I know how to communicate ideas concepts and enthusiasm." Allen holds a bachelor's in biology and rhetoric and a master's in journalism from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a master's in history from the University of Illinois at Chicago, where he ran track and cross country for four years. Allen has been a writer for the St. Louis Post Dispatch covering science, environment and medicine. He has also covered police stories, political issues and sports while working in Chicago. He served as editor and writer at the Institutes for Journalism & Natural Resources, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Argonne National Laboratory. He admittedly has little experience in specific agricultural fields, but Allen feels that his knowledge and experience with life sciences give him a base from which to relate to agriculture. Allen has written numerous articles covering the life sciences field, with topics ranging from genetically modified crops, to a story about earth worm ecology. Leaving his job as a main line reporter was easy he says because he has always loved to teach, and share ideas with students. His work has given him the opportunity to mentor young journalists, and he said, "it's one of the fun and rewarding parts of working." At MU, Allen will be teaching three classes, Ag Journalism 210 (Agricultural Communications), Ag Journalism 160 (Introduction to Agricultural Journalism) and Ag Journalism 320 (Senior Capstone/Seminar.) He plans to start with the same materials that are currently being used by Cummins, and integrate his own experiences and knowledge into the programs. "I believe that Bill will be a great addition to the Ag Journalism program because he brings so many years of professional reporting about science and environment." Cummins said. "He's truly passionate about working with students and that is the most important thing in my book" Allen will also be responsible for advising the Ag Journalism students. He is prepared to take over advising for as many students as possible, but hopefully "not all on the first day," he said. Eventually, he will advise all students in the Ag Journalism major. Allen says, "I've got a lot to
learn, and I look forward to being on the MU campus."
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