“How might your campus equip more people to get, share, and discuss reliable information about what’s happening in the places where they live?” 

That’s the question the Journalism + Design Lab posed to community college faculty and staff across the South this spring through the Community College Civic Info Challenge, which invited educators to propose innovative and collaborative ways to bolster local news infrastructure at community colleges in the region. Today, we’re excited to announce the eight project ideas that were selected as awardees. 

The ideas were chosen for their potential to inspire and teach the field how community colleges can nurture more participatory networks for civic information and local news. 

The awardees will each receive $5,000 in seed funding to support the development of their ideas in collaboration with the J+D Lab in 2025-26. They also will receive an all-expenses-paid trip to Asheville, North Carolina, in November 2025 to attend a two-day design summit, where they will workshop their ideas with a supportive, interdisciplinary community of educators, journalists, media leaders, designers, and community engagement experts; develop a roadmap for turning their ideas into implementable solutions; and find nourishment and joy in imagining how civic news can bring people together. 

Read more about the project ideas that were selected below, and sign up for the J+D Lab newsletter for updates about the Civic Info Challenge program.  

Beth Baunoch and Jackie Scott, Community College of Baltimore County (MD)

The Community College of Baltimore County will connect two existing initiatives that center student-created media and news literacy: ForReal Media, a podcast production house, and the CCBC News Literacy Institute, which provides resources and trains faculty on how to embed media literacy across the college curriculum. Together, they will survey local communities about their attitudes towards media, build a digital archive of student media and local news tools, host faculty workshops, and partner with community groups and local outlets to co-create and share content.

Naita Guine, PhD, Florida State College at Jacksonville (FL)

Florida State College at Jacksonville (FSCJ)’s ELEVATE is a groundbreaking idea that will bridge liberal arts, sciences, and technical education to empower students as informed citizens and career-ready professionals. Through “Community Info Briefings,” a digital bulletin, and a speaker series, ELEVATE will prepare students as civic information ambassadors, exploring different career paths and positioning FSCJ as a hub for informed community dialogue.

Carolyn Cross, PhD, Carlton Abernathy, Fred Batiste, and Ashley Watkins, Houston Community College (TX)

Houston Community College (HCC) pitched the idea of Community Information Ambassadors, who will train more than 500 residents as trusted local news sources in five neighborhoods underserved by media. Using HCC campuses and multilingual staff, the HCC team will establish Community Information Centers, create a certification program, and partner with ethnic media and community groups. Participants will learn to gather, verify, and share information through digital platforms, newsletters, and forums, boosting civic engagement and community resilience.

Kelly Atwood, Jones College and Edgar Simpson, University of Southern Mississippi (MS)

Jones College will establish a coalition of Mississippi community colleges to offer noncredit certificate programs in digital journalism to community members around the state. Certificate holders will develop skills in story identification, source development, digital storytelling, and audience engagement. This capability to share information will help address news deserts across Mississippi by empowering local voices and strengthening community connections.

Debbie Miller, Matthew Evans, Anne Farmer, Sharon Fox, and April Wallace, NorthWest Arkansas Community College (AR)

NorthWest Arkansas Community College (NWACC) plans to empower and guide participants to create more accessible information about local governments and community affairs for Benton and Washington counties. NWACC will aim to increase the amount of accessible news coverage in the two-county area and establish web resources for those seeking local government data and general information about their communities. 

Laura Miller, Mark Gray, Laura Lubin, Miriam Machado-Luces, and Larry Miller, Prince George’s Community College (MD)

Around Prince George’s (APG), an idea from Prince George’s Community College (PGCC), will develop and sustain a student-led community news program and strengthen existing partnerships with local news stations. By expanding Spanish-language programming and focusing on stories that impact the campus and surrounding communities, APG will increase local access to news and capitalize on PGCC’s unique proximity to the nation’s capital. APG will also increase the digital footprint of the college’s newspaper and facilitate experiential learning opportunities for students in the Mass Communication and Public Relations and Journalism programs.

Pedro Cabrera, Seabrook Jones, and Ethan Rocke, San Antonio College (TX)

San Antonio College (SAC) will modernize its journalism program while reestablishing its student news publication as a vital source of news for the college and the surrounding community. The goal is to expand The Sundial‘s reach and circulation by developing a weekly digital newsletter that reaches roughly 20,000 students and staff and to create a print vehicle so both can be monetized to sustain and expand The Sundial‘s reporting and reach.

Alex Siwiecki, Santa Fe College (FL)

Santa Fe College will establish a physical space for independent student journalism trainings in skills like writing and broadcasting, with the goals of expanding curriculum and extracurricular offerings.

The Journalism + Design Lab is deeply grateful to the members of the Civic Info Challenge Selection Committee, who dedicated their time and brought wisdom and warmth to reading applications and selecting the awardees: Melissa Edwards (Middlesex College), Cristóbal Espinoza-Wulach (Middlesex College), Terrell Jenkins (Santa Fe College), Paul Swearingen (Fresno City College), Sonam Vashi (City Bureau), and Aallyah Wright (Capital B). 

The Community College Civic Info Challenge is made possible by the generous support of Lumina Foundation as part of Press Forward, a national movement to strengthen communities through better local news and information.