A celebration of excellence in Canadian journalism was hosted this month at CAUT’s Council meeting.

The 2008 Awards for Excellence in Education Journalism were handed out in Ottawa on May 2 and May 3 to Globe and Mail reporter Elizabeth Church, in the professional media category, for her June 2007 article “Research Funding: Humanities Seek Greater Understanding,” and Jon Roe, in the student news writing category, for his work in covering the controversial connection between the University of Calgary and the Friends of Science, a Calgary-based group linked to the Alberta oil industry.

Presented annually by CAUT, the awards recognize journalistic excellence among Canadian students and journalists for a composition on a current issue facing post-secondary education in Canada.

Church, a veteran, award-winning business writer before becoming the Globe’s full-time post-secondary education reporter last year, and Roe, who works as a writer and editor-in-chief for the Gauntlet, the independent student newspaper of the University of Calgary, each received a cheque for $1,000 and a certificate of award.

“I’m very grateful to be recognized,” said Church. “I look forward to working in the sector for many more years — so many stories are so important to the future of post-secondary education.”

Roe, 21, who’s studying economics at the University of Calgary, admits the award came as a surprise.

“It’s not something I expected, and I’m thrilled that my report was well received as I do think it’s an important issue,” Roe said.

The winners are selected by an independent jury, which this year included freelance journalist and author Frances Russell (formerly of the Winnipeg Free Press), Mike Gasher, a Concordia University journalism professor, and Jim Bronskill, a reporter in the Ottawa bureau of the Canadian Press news agency and a lecturer at Carleton University.