Briefs: EdNews gets national award

Education News Colorado and its partners Solutions and the I-News Network have been awarded a second prize for investigative reporting by the Education Writers Association in its 2012 National Awards for Education Reporting.

A series of articled titled “Medical Marijuana and K-12 Schools” examined the relationship between student marijuana use and the growing number of medical marijuana dispensaries in Colorado. The package of articles and databases was published in February 2012. (Read it here.)

Writers Nancy Mitchell and Rebecca Jones worked on the package for EdNews, with Jordan Wirfs-Brock and Jon Sisk assisting on databases. Their partners in the package were Katie Kerwin-McCrimmon of Solutions, a Colorado online health news service, and Burt Hubbard, Laura Frank and Joe Mahoney of I-News Network, another Colorado news provider.

Another Colorado journalist, Jenny Brundin of Colorado Public Radio, won a first prize award in the contest’s broadcast category for single-topic news, series or feature. Her series examined the progress of Trevista school in Denver.

Learn more about other EWA awards here.

CU-Boulder names conservative scholar

The University of Colorado-Boulder has named its first Visiting Scholar in Conservative Thought and Policy. Steven Hayward of Ashland University in Ohio will serve a one-year appointment starting next fall and is tentatively scheduled to teach four courses.

Hayward’s specialty is environmental policy.

The CU program is a three-year pilot supported by private funds. More than 20 donors have raised $1 million to support the effort. Learn more in this CU news release.