Promotion, tenure make Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues boss 1 of a kind

Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues Director Al Cross was promoted to associate professor this month, making him the first tenured extension faculty member at the University of Kentucky outside of the College of Agriculture and the only known extension professor of journalism in the U.S.

As an extension professor, most of Cross' work is directed off campus and involves working with rural and community journalists nationwide. His goal, and that of the Institute, is to help community journalists define the public agenda in their communities and report on regional issues.

For Cross, being able to help rural journalists is a way of returning to his roots as a weekly newspaper editor and regional reporter for The Courier-Journal. "In a way, I have come full circle," Cross said in a UK press release. He became director of the Institute in 2004 after reporting for the Louisville newspaper for more than 26 years, over 15 in which he was the chief political writer. He still writes a fortnightly column for the paper. (Read more)