Syracuse University Professor Emeritus Marshall Matlock was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Society of News Design at the Best of News Design competition awards ceremony.

The ceremony took place in Orlando, Florida at the Marriott World Center on Sept. 2.

Matlock, who retired from SU in May 2006, was given the Lifetime Achievement Award for his outstanding work within the ‘Best of Newspaper Design’ competition over the last 18 years, said SND President Christine McNeal.

The competition started small but now normally receives nearly 15,000 entries each year and was brought to SU in 1988. SU hosts the competition’s judging process.

Matlock has held the role of competition coordinator for nearly two decades, a job that involves a lot of work throughout the year as each competition is judged and prepared for, McNeal said.

‘What heading the competition all these years means is that Marshall has spent every Valentine’s Day sorting through entries since 1990,’ McNeal said she included in her speech before the award was presented.

Anyone who has an SND membership can nominate someone for the Lifetime Achievement Award, McNeal said. A committee then meets and decides who will receive the award, which has only been given to eight people, including Matlock, in the history of the competition. Along with this honor Matlock has received six President’s Awards.

‘It was a total surprise,’ Matlock said.

Usually the recipient of the award is announced to the public beforehand, but McNeal and others kept Matlock in the dark.

Two former students approached Matlock where he was directing the show and asked him to follow them, he said. He was then shown to a chair and listened to McNeal’s speech before going up to accept the award.

‘I didn’t place myself in the same caliber as those who had won before me, but apparently others did,’ Matlock said.

Matlock said he began his teaching career at SU 33 years ago. He started out teaching an introduction to communications lecture that held about 450 students, then later moved on to teach newspaper design, news writing and advanced reporting courses. In May 2006, he retired from teaching and was named a Professor Emeritus.

Matlock said he will keep his position as competition director for at least five years.

‘I owe him everything,’ said Scott Goldstein, a former student of Matlock and vice president of SND. ‘He is a tremendous professor and relentless in the defense of students and getting them involved.’

Through the years the competition has been judged at SU, Matlock said he has tried to give as many students as possible a chance to be involved. The students help set up the judging displays and also with various other aspects of the process. Matlock said he hopes the experience students get from being involved with the competition will open doors to them.

‘The students make the university,’ Matlock said. ‘Any chance to involve them with the profession helps.’

Published on October 7, 2006 at 12:00 pm