IN HIS TEACHER'S NAME: Master Lecturer Mike Foley, JM 1970, MAMC 2004, is the first Hugh W. Cunningham Professor in Journalism Excellence.
Foley earns Cunningham professorship
Although Prof. Emeritus Hugh Cunningham left a lifelong impression on him, Mike Foley, JM 1970, MAMC 2004, never expected to earn a professorship named after his former Applied Journalism teacher.
“Hugh had such a profound influence on me,” says Foley, the first Hugh W. Cunningham Professor in Journalism Excellence.
Cunningham never forgot Foley, either, he says.
“He was an extremely good student of mine,” says Cunningham, who is retired and lives in Gainesville.
Their relationship continued after Foley graduated. During the summer, Cunningham would see him once a week when he brought his Applied Journalism students to the St. Petersburg Times newsroom to help put out the paper.
“Hugh could do it all,” recalls Foley, who went on to become the Times’ executive editor.
Foley, who’s been teaching at the College for the past five years, has been overseeing the Reporting classes and labs as a faculty member since 2003.
“I’m honored to receive this professorship,” says Foley, who served as a juror for the Pulitzer Prizes and president of the Florida Society of Newspaper Editors. “Hugh had such a profound influence on me.”
The professorship allows Foley to travel to conferences and other professional development opportunities.
“Mike’s distinguished accomplishments and expertise as a journalist are complemented by his genuine concern that students receive the highest possible quality instruction,” Interim Dean John Wright says. “His high standards and effectiveness in the classroom make him the ideal recipient of the [professorship].”