Share stories, items about Dr. Starr for his retirement

Since 1986, Aggies have been learning the principles of journalism from Dr. Douglas Starr, a wonderful man who always has time for his students and former students -- and who was my first friend on Facebook and the first member of our Aggie Journalists Facebook group. So this is a sad announcement for journalism students and grads of A&M. But it's a retirement well deserved, and I hope he'll be relaxed and happy in no time! Here's the official word from Dr. Dunsford:


Doug Starr is retiring at the end of August.

We are collecting letters or other items from former students and former colleagues. If they would send their items to me at the address below, that would be great. We’re also collecting for a retirement gift. Any contributions can come to me as well, or to Debbie King, 107 Scoates Hall, MS 2116, TAMU, College Station, 77843-2116.

His official retirement party will be Friday, May 21, at the REC Center on Campus. Details will be along soon.

Thank you!

Deb Dunsford


Deborah W. Dunsford, Ph.D.
Senior Lecturer and Program Coordinator
Agricultural Communications and Journalism
Texas A&M University7
127 Scoates Hall, MS 2116
College Station, Texas 77843-2116
979-458-3389; fax 979-845-6296
dunsford (at) tamu.edu

'Aggieland' yearbook wins 3rd straight Silver Crown

Muchas gracias to Mr. Wegener for this item!

Texas A&M’s Aggieland yearbook is a Silver Crown winner for the third straight year. The Columbia Scholastic Press Association announced its top awards for collegiate publications at the 32nd annual College Media Convention on March 14. Alyssa Peña Smith, 2009 and 2010 Aggieland editor-in-chief, attended the Awards Convocation in New York City.

“We were honored to find out that the 2009 Aggieland was chosen as one of the top nine yearbooks in the country,” Smith said. “All of our hard work was recognized, and we are very proud of our publication.”

Aggieland editors and staff members also won 19 Gold Circle Awards, given by CSPA to recognize superior work by individual student journalists.

Smith, English ’10, and photo editor Doug Klembara, University Studies ’11, received first place awards for yearbook title page, division page and academic spread design.

Smith and Klembara received second place awards for organization or Greeks spread design, student life and sports multi-page presentation, opening and closing spread design, photo portfolio, sports feature photo and sports action photo.

Smith, Klembara, Jose Arredondo, Spanish ‘10, Patrick Clayton, Engineering Technology ’09, Meredith Collier, Communication ’10, and Rachel Hardman, University Studies ’10, took third place for student life spread, photo illustration, academic photo, headline writing and for organization or Greeks spread.

For Crown Awards, yearbooks are judged on writing/editing, design, content, concept, photography, art and graphics. Judging took place at Columbia University from Dec. 19-21, 2009, by the Board of Crown Judges.

“Through traditional stories and strong storytelling photography, numerous aspects of Aggie life are covered,” judges said of the 2009 Aggieland.

“Clean and simple, yet modern and bold, the typography and white space drive this book’s design. Because of its huge size (624 pages) the large body copy and simple design work to avoid overwhelming the reader.”