Shelby Clark, a University of Southern Indiana sophomore majoring in marketing, will serve as the Editor-in-Chief for The Shield, USI’s independent student newspaper, for the 2022-23 academic year.
As Editor-in-Chief, Clark will be responsible for the overall operations for the media outlet. She will plan and conduct weekly editorial and business meetings, determine the content of the website and email newsletter and meet with The Shield leadership team to set editorial content and advertising distribution.
"Being the Editor-in-Chief during the 2021-2022 academic year has not been easy or perfect, but it has been one of the greatest joys of my life,” Clark says. “The Shield’s mission to serve the students and campus community ‘with factual information, entertaining content and a forum for discussion, reflecting their unique interests and concerns’ drives my dedication. I am so privileged with one of the greatest Shield staff in Shield history and know we have more to complete for this University.”
In addition to her re-appointment as Editor-in-Chief, Clark works as the Greater Grace Apostolic Church Marketing Director where she is responsible for coordinating social media content, marketing campaigns and planning events. Prior to her time as Editor-in-Chief, Clark worked as Digital Editor and Staff Writer for The Shield.
Clark’s primary goal for The Shield is sustainability through transition. She plans to create sustainability through means of The Shield training process, staff structure, funding and overall recruitment and retention efforts. “The work my staff does for The Shield will be worthless if we do not leave it in the hands of a capable staff. I have worked to keep The Shield alive, and now, I want to ensure The Shield stays alive for generations to come,” says Clark.
During the 2021-22 academic year, her goal was growth in size and impact. During Clark's time as Editor-In-Chief, The Shield has grown its staff size from four members to 30. The Shield has also grown in terms of diversity—in its content and staff—under Clark’s leadership. The current Shield staff intentionally covers topics that include diversity, equity and inclusion.
“The Shield went from having no persons of color to having five persons of color,” Clark says. “The Shield staff now has students from all four colleges. We have students who are in the LGBTQ+ community, and we also have students who have disabilities.”
Applications for positions for the 2022-23 academic year are available online or in The Shield office. To get involved, call 812-465-1682, or visit the office in the lower level of University Center East, Room 227.
