The Huck Boyd National Center for Community Media

The Huck Boyd National Center for Community Media, located in the A.Q. Miller School of Media and Communication, affirms the fact that community and communication are inseparable; you cannot have community without communications.

The center, directed by Dr. Sam Mwangi, sponsors the annual Huck Boyd Lecture in Community Media, which emphasizes the combination of communication and community. Steve Smethers and Bonita Gooch

The center also works with the International Society of Weekly Newspaper Editors on a paper competition, “Conversations in Community Journalism.” The winning paper is presented at the annual International Society of Weekly Newspaper Editors’ summer convention.

Research related to community journalism is also conducted under the auspices of the center. The most-recent example was “A case study of a rural Hispanic newspaper in the Midwest,” conducted with an undergraduate researcher in the A.Q. Miller School. Another example of research included studying the development of a Community Media Center in Greensburg, Kansas, after a tornado destroyed a large part of the town.

For 20 years, the center sponsored the “Newspapers and Community-Building Symposium,” in conjunction with the National Newspaper Association’s annual convention.

The center also maintains close ties to the Kansas Press Association and the Kansas Association of Broadcasters, as well as other regional and national journalism organizations.

View recent lectures below.


The Huck Boyd Lecture Series is funded through annual donations from its generous patrons. We would like to take this opportunity to thank our patrons:

Platinum Patrons ($200+)

  • Kyle and Lisa Bauer, Clay Center, Kansas
  • Anne Brockhoff, Linwood, Kansas
  • The Honorable Robert J. Dole, Washington, D.C.
  • Nancy Landon Kassebaum, Burdick, Kansas
  • Sarah Kessinger, Marysville Advocate, Marysville, Kansas
  • Cy and Gladys Moyer, Phillipsburg, Kansas

Gold Patrons ($150-$199)

  • Emily Bradberry, Kansas Press Association, Topeka, Kansas
  • Dan Caffrey, Landoll Corporation, Marysville, Kansas
  • Linda Denning, Ellsworth County Independent-Reporter, Ellsworth, Kansas

Silver Patron ($100-$149)

  • Anthony Crawford, Manhattan, Kansas
  • Tom and Andrea Krauss, Russell, Kansas
  • Donna Logback, The Iola Register, Iola, Kansas
  • Deb and Bill Miller, Council Grove, Kansas
  • Ron Wilson, Manhattan, Kansas