TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Acclaimed historian and social activist Dr. Wayne Flynt will be honored with The University of Alabama journalism department’s 2002 Clarence Cason Writing Award at a banquet on Wednesday, March 13.

The banquet will be followed March 14 with the department of journalism’s fifth annual Press and Public Symposium. This year’s program, “Alabama at the Crossroads,” will feature luncheon speaker Hodding Carter III, president and CEO of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.

Tickets to the banquet honoring Flynt are $30 and include dinner. The event will begin with a reception at 6 p.m. at the Sheraton Four Points Hotel. The dinner and award presentation will follow at 7 p.m.

Tickets to the March 14 symposium are $20 and include lunch. The program will begin at 8:30 a.m. at the Sheraton Four Points and conclude at 1:30 p.m. In addition to Carter’s remarks, the symposium will feature two panels. One will look at Alabama and its place in the world. The other will examine the 2002 state elections. After lunch, participants are invited to attend a political forum at which leading gubernatorial candidates will present their plans for state constitutional reform.

Carter comes from a distinguished background in journalism, beginning at his family’s newspaper in Greenville, Miss. He served in President Jimmy Carter’s administration as spokesman for the U.S. State Department. He is closely identified with civic journalism and other efforts to improve the credibility of newspapers and enhance their contribution to democracy.

The Clarence Cason Writing Award, presented annually by the UA journalism department, honors exemplary nonfiction writing over a productive career. Winners have strong connections to Alabama, reflected either in their backgrounds or their work.

Flynt is Distinguished University Professor at Auburn University. His many works have explored the plight of poor Southerners and assessed the role of religion in Southern politics. His essays grace the pages of many newspapers in the South, and he is a sought-after speaker. In 1993, the Mobile Register hailed Flynt as Alabamian of the Year for his work in school reform and social justice.

The Cason Award is named for the founding head of the journalism department, who wrote the definitive work of his native region, “90º in the Shade,” published shortly after his death in 1935.

Flynt, a Cason admirer, is the author of the preface to the second edition of Cason’s book, published by The University of Alabama Press. The original volume was published by the University of North Carolina Press.

Previous winners of the Cason Award, given for the first time in 1998, are Gay Talese, journalist and author, 1998; Edward O. Wilson, Pulitzer Prize-winning scientist/author, 1999; Howell Raines, Pulitzer Prize-winning executive editor of The New York Times and author, 2000; and Albert Murray, blues and jazz writer and author, 2001. Recipients receive a $3,000 cash award and a plaque.

Financial support for the Cason Award and the Press and Public Symposium is provided by grants and private donations, including the Elmo Ellis Professional in Residence Endowment, the Emory Cunningham Magazine Journalism Endowment, the William Randolph Hearst Foundation Endowment and the New York Times Cason Award Endowment.

The banquet evening is also used to recognize recipients of the H. Brandt and Josephine Ayers and Elise Ayers Sanguinetti Scholarships in Creative Journalism at UA.

To order tickets, send name, address, phone number and e-mail address with your check by March 7, to Dr. Bailey Thomson, department of journalism, Box 870172.

• $30 for Cason Banquet, Wednesday, March 13
• $20 for Press and Public Symposium, Thursday, March 14
• $50 for both