CSPA Founder and Former Director Col. Joseph M. Murphy presents former U.S. President Harry S. Truman with a CSPA Gold Key Award.
To mark its centennial year in 2025, the Columbia Scholastic Press Association will honor individuals who have profoundly contributed to and have had a sustained impact on scholastic journalism education. The Centennial Awards honor individuals in five categories: Innovation, Impact, Lifetime Achievement in Scholastic Journalism, CSPA Alumni Achievement Award, and CSPA Service. Separately, this year, in honor of the Association's centennial, CSPA will also award Platinum Keys, given at the discretion of the director.
CSPA wishes to thank all those who made nominations, its Centennial advisory board and Centennial Awards committee for their work and contributions to this momentous effort.
All awardees are invited to attend a special luncheon on Friday, March 21, 2025, at the CSPA 101st Annual Spring Convention and Centennial celebration, where they will be honored for their service.
Innovation
The recipient of this award has introduced new and ingenious ideas, methods, a service, or processes that have resulted in educational/informational value for their students, schools, communities, and /or scholastic journalism overall. The awardee does not have to be a teacher or adviser, but their work or industry must somehow be tied to student media.
Impact
This award will recognize an individual who has made a measurable impact on students, school, community, industry, and/or colleagues through their dedication to their work and those they serve.
Lifetime Achievement in Scholastic Journalism
This award will be given to a member or members of the scholastic journalism community who have spent their professional lives serving the educational ideals for which we all strive: teaching the importance of, and ultimately the preservation of, a free press in our democratic society.
CSPA Alumni Achievement Award
CSPA is proud of its program participants. Many who have attended our programs have gone on to success elsewhere, whether in journalism or other industries. This award recognizes an individual for whom the teachings, skills, and values of journalism and CSPA have contributed to success in their current work.
CSPA Service
This award will recognize individuals who have for years, and in some cases decades, supported CSPA in its mission of educating members of the student press to uphold the highest standard of journalism. This award will be given at the discretion of CSPA. No nominations will be accepted.
CSPA Platinum Key
On the occasion of the centennial of the Association, CSPA will award Platinum Keys to individuals who are already Gold Key recipients and who have demonstrated surpassing skill and enduring dedication and passion to educate our future journalists. As with the Gold Key, these individuals have also devoted countless hours in support of CSPA, so that we as an organization may continue our mission of educating and supporting student journalists and their advisers to preserve a future free press.