As Manship School Dean Jerry Ceppos put it in his nomination letter, Shelledy 鈥渄irects a sort of news empire in which 海角社区 students investigate cold civil-rights murders by making FOI requests and helping families turn the page on a scarring chapter in their lives; learn to cover the Louisiana state legislature, or work with news editors around the state in fulfilling requests on a wide range of reporting assignments.鈥�
鈥淚n student media and in the classroom, Jay has improved the journalism of several thousand students during his 11 years at 海角社区,鈥� Ceppos said.
For six years, students in his Field Experience class have traveled to the rural South and Washington, D.C., to . The students also investigate cases of Louisiana convicts, usually being held for life without the possibility of parole, who appear to have been convicted unfairly. Shelledy this year expanded the class to include the that has covered the 2016 Louisiana legislative session for 13 daily newspapers across the state, filling more nearly 400 stories since the first special session.
In letters supporting his nomination, students described Shelledy鈥檚 class as one of the best experiences of their time at 海角社区, with one describing him as 鈥渢he type of nurturing, hyper-attentive mentor all students hope to encounter when they head off for college.鈥� Jack Richards, a reporter with the Manship School Statehouse Bureau, recently said Shelledy was 鈥減ossibly the best teacher I have ever had in my life, especially when it comes to practical, hands-on stuff.鈥�
Quint Forgey, editor of The Daily Reveille and a reporter for the Manship News Service Statehouse Bureau, wrote in his nomination letter of the impact Shelledy has had on his development as a journalist.
鈥淗e鈥檚 celebrated with me in some of the happiest moments of my young professional career,鈥� Forgey wrote, 鈥渁nd he鈥檚 stuck up for me in some of the nastiest. Every opportunity that I鈥檝e been offered thus far in the world of journalism can somehow be traced back to Jay Shelledy.鈥�
Amy Brittain, a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter for The Washington Post who first met Shelledy in 2005 when she worked at The Daily Reveille, called him 鈥渁 champion for the students,鈥� and said he inspired her to doggedly go after tough stories. 鈥淎s the director of Student Media, Jay encouraged young reporters to pursue ambitious and investigative stories,鈥� Brittain wrote in support of Shelledy鈥檚 nomination. 鈥淚 am a better reporter from having learned from him, and I know that countless other students and alumni feel the same way.鈥�
Before joining the faculty of the Manship School, Shelledy was editor of the Salt Lake Tribune for 12 years. He has more than 30 years鈥� daily newspaper and wire service experience, and has been a Pulitzer Prize juror and an author.