Park University Professor Earns Honorary Rotarian Recognition

Steven Youngblood, associate professor of communication arts at Park University, was recently honored by the Parkville Rotary Club with the designation of Honorary Rotarian for his contributions to world peace.
Youngblood facilitated the Rotary Club’s adoption of a school lunch program in famineridden Uganda and previously served as adviser of Park’s Model United Nations Program. “I’m very humbled to receive this honor from the Parkville Rotary Club, as it represents, individually and collectively, the highest ideal of selfless service,” Youngblood said. “As an Honorary Rotarian, I will do my best to follow their example.” Park, with the help of Youngblood’s leadership as director, recently launched the Center for Global Peace Journalism to promote peace and encourage responsible, non-inflammatory reporting. The Center’s current project, “Peace Media and Counterterrorism: Establishing Collaborative Frameworks to Prevent Violent Extremism,” began in December 2011 and will continue in May and June with seminars that will bring together media with government security officials in Uganda. The project is funded with a $120,000 U.S. Department of State grant.