Dick Johns creates opportunities to help students find success
Richard Johns doesn’t just teach at the university. He does not just advise for the Iowa Journalist or serve as the former executive director for the Quill and Scroll Society. University of Iowa Journalism and Mass Communication Adjunct Instructor Johns isn’t just defined by his lengthy job title. There are people who have only seen one side of the man, but there is much more behind him than is initially apparent.
Outside his work life at The University of Iowa, Johns has been active in several organizations including Hancher Guild, Iowa City Noon Rotary Club and Arts Iowa City. Johns is partly responsible for many of the opportunities these organizations offer students.
Journalism students and The Spotlight student editors Kelly Diggins and Neal Ternes learn about layouts from Adjunct Instructor Dick Johns. Photo by Ross Koppenhaver
"When you look at these young people and what they’re doing, what they’ve done, what their goals are, it is just amazing," Johns said.
After encouragement from some family friends, Johns decided to be a showcase volunteer for Hancher Guild. The Guild is a volunteer organization whose primary purpose is to support Hancher Auditorium and the various groups that perform there.
During Johns’s time working with Hancher Guild, the showcase evolved into an important merchandising station for the auditorium. The profit generated from selling merchandise is donated to Hancher to help support educational opportunities for school children to come to the auditorium to see certain performances. The Guild has raised more than $150,000 for Hancher.
Johns served as the president of Hancher Guild from 2004 to 2005 and now fills the role of newsletter editor. Seeing an opportunity to get students involved with Hancher Guild, Johns helped start an internship for journalism students who wanted to serve as editors for the newsletter during his year as president.
This created a great opportunity for students and was a point of great interest for LaDonna Wicklund, who is involved with Arts Iowa City. With Johns’s help, Wicklund was able to start an internship program of her own to allow students who were interested in both arts and journalism to edit their newsletter.
But in the wake of the 2008 flooding the Guild has been limited in many ways.
"What's sad right now is that [the showcase] is not functioning because the auditorium isn't functioning," Johns said.
Besides the showcase, a few other Guild functions such as the showcase volunteers and the audience development committees have also been temporarily discontinued.
Johns’s involvement with Hancher Guild has been extensive and he feels it is very important to support the arts. He will do so for as long as he remains healthy and active.
"For me, being involved with the Guild, as well as my wife, has been a great experience. I think both of us have gained a great deal more respect and understanding of the arts because of becoming involved with Hancher Guild," Johns said.
But Hancher Guild isn’t the only extracurricular organization in which Johns takes part. He also serves on the Rotary District 6000 International Scholarship committee.
Through the Rotary clubs, students can apply for a $25,000 scholarship which allows at least two to three students each year to study abroad. Johns served as the president of the Iowa City Noon Rotary Club from 1989-1990 and has served on the selection committee for the Rotary District 6000 International Scholarship for 19 years.
The committee not only looks at the students’ academic standing, but also how they are going to represent the UI and the United States as ambassadors. Fluency in a foreign language also plays a deciding factor in determining whether someone is ready to further their studies abroad, especially if their studies will be taught in a foreign language.
Johns is a person who constantly looks for ways to better his community and seeks exciting opportunities for his students. He may have officially retired two years ago, but he still works hard to help students produce the Journalism and Mass Communication School's magazine: the Iowa Journalist.
This is his 10th year advising for the publication, so his influence has touched the past 20 issues.
"You get out what you put in," Johns said.
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