Apply Now for Project to Diversify Media

Applications are now being accepted for a one-day seminar designed to encourage women and minorities who are faculty and staff at the University of Cincinnati to embrace their roles as thought and opinion leaders in our community and beyond.

The Op-Ed Project aims to “increase the range of voices and quality of ideas we hear in the world.” The social venture launched in 2008 and has run or is currently running fellowship programs at Yale, Dartmouth, Emory and Northwestern universities.

During the one-day seminar at UC on Friday, Dec. 6, 20 participants will explore their areas of expertise in-depth and practice leveraging their expertise in new and public ways. According to a variety of media studies of bylines and news coverage, only about 10 to 20 percent of opinion pieces in newspapers are written by women. In some news outlets, like The Wall Street Journal, that number slips to below 5 percent.

The Op-Ed Project was designed to remedy that imbalance said Barbara Rinto, Director of UC’s Women’s Center and an organizer of the Op-Ed seminar on campus. The Op-Ed Project, she said, espouses the belief that the best ideas, no matter where or from whom they come, should be heard and play a role in shaping our future society and our world.

“UC is proud to offer this exciting opportunity to our faculty and staff,” Rinto said. “We have a tremendous wealth of female and minority leadership at UC, and we want to make sure they have the tools they need to shape opinions and policies far beyond our campus boundaries.”

Applications for the Op-Ed Project at UC are available here http://www.uc.edu/win/womens_leadership/oped.html Completed applications must be received by Friday, Nov. 8 to be considered; selected participants will receive the training and a follow-up year of coaching for free.

The Op-Ed Project seminar is sponsored by The University of Cincinnati’s Office of the President, Office of the Provost, the Diversity Council, the Women’s Center, WIN, LEAF Initiative, Department of Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies, the Scripps Howard Foundation and the Department of Journalism in UC’s McMicken College of Arts & Sciences.