Deadline

December 15, 2025

Past winners

View past winners list

The JEA Diversity Award honors a scholastic journalism teacher, student media adviser or scholastic journalism group demonstrating a commitment to cultural awareness and encouraging a multicultural approach with its student media staff, media production and/or community.

Nominees should be at the forefront of promoting diversity in the scholastic media arena, taking steps to break down walls of misunderstanding and ignorance.

Entry Criteria

The nominee should be a scholastic journalism teacher, student media adviser or scholastic journalism group. Retired journalism teachers and advisers, along with those currently teaching or advising may be nominated and JEA members may nominate themselves or their own programs. Organizations supportive of scholastic journalism also may be nominated.

The nominator must be a current JEA member.

How to Apply

The nominator should submit:

  • A narrative of up to 500 words explaining how the nominee has demonstrated and encouraged a multicultural approach with student media staff, media production and/or community
  • Three additional letters of support from other individuals who know the nominee or group

To nominate an individual for the Diversity Award, please fill out this online form by Dec. 15.

Judging Criteria

This is a juried award. Entries are evaluated by a national panel of journalism educators consisting of members of the JEA Awards Committee. One winner will be selected and honorable mentions may be given.

Award Recognition

The winner and honorable mentions, if any, will be recognized during the Saturday awards luncheon of the Spring JEA/NSPA National High School Journalism Convention. They will each receive one complimentary ticket to the luncheon.

Please note: If the winner is a group, an adult representative of that group should plan to receive the award. The award includes one complimentary luncheon ticket for that individual only.

More Awards

Candace and John Bowen Adviser First Amendment Leadership Award

Deadline: December 15, 2025
This annual award will go to a JEA member whose work has actively supported, defended and fought for the First Amendment rights of student journalists and their advisers on the local, state or national level. The winner will receive a $1,000 prize.
Learn More

Rising Star Award

Deadline: July 15, 2026
Rising Star trophies are given to advisers who are in their first five years of advising a media program and have shown great dedication to scholastic journalism and have had success advising at least one media program.
Learn More

Medal of Merit Award

Deadline: July 15, 2026
Medals of Merit are given to JEA members who have made significant contributions to scholastic journalism.
Learn More