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Lab Director named President of National Media Literacy Group

Lab Director named President of National Media Literacy Group

Professor Sherri Hope Culver assumes  a national leadership role

For Immediate Release
Contact:  Jessica Z. Brown
Marketing Chair, National Association for Media Literacy Education
Tel.: 314-567-0265
E-mail: curtjes@swbell.net

New Name, New Leadership for Media Literacy Education Organization

August 12, 2008     

The Alliance for a Media Literate America (AMLA) has officially changed its name to the National Association for Media Literacy Education (NAMLE), effective immediately.  NAMLE is the leading membership organization for educators and youth media practitioners working in media literacy education (mle).

A new president, Sherri Hope Culver, has been elected to a two-year term, succeeding U. of Arizona’s Dr. Lynda Bergsma, who remains on the board.  Culver, on Temple University’s faculty (see bio), is Director of the Media Education Lab @ Temple University, and assumes leadership at a pivotal time for both the organization and the field of media literacy education.

“This (mle) is an urgent and still largely unmet priority in our education system today,” Culver said.  “Our new name reflects a stronger focus on the intersection of media literacy and education and supports the organization’s recent drafting of the Core Principles of Media Literacy Education, a resource for all organizations interested in this vital topic,” Culver added.

“Literacy in the 21st century goes beyond reading and writing and recognizes the need for critical thinking skills when processing content across all media platforms.  NAMLE, through its leadership and members, is at the forefront of media literacy education; supporting it in both formal and informal settings", says Rosemarie T. Truglio, Ph.D., Vice President of Research and Education, Sesame Workshop and a member of the NAMLE Advisory Council.

Joining the NAMLE board of directors to further strengthen its charge for taking media literacy education to a new level of understanding are the following: Jane Owens, Mountain Lake PBS, New York; Cindy Pulley, Maryville University, St. Louis; Brian Cohen, Washington University, St. Louis, and Deborah Parker, SLEM 3 Education Marketing, Delaware, Ohio.

The National Association for Media Literacy Education’s mission is to expand and improve the practice of media literacy education in the United States.  NAMLE’s next conference, themed “Bridging Literacies,” will be held August 2-5, 2009, in Detroit.  A board of directors and an advisory council composed of leaders in the field of children’s media and education support the membership organization.  For more information, visit www.NAMLE.net.

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