I am thrilled that Adam Ragusea will be joining GPB & WMUM at the end of the month. Last month, I had the privilege of spending several hours with Adam, talking about our ambitious goals for the Center and driving around Macon, showing him much of what I adore about the city as well as the work that remains. 

Adam (who helpfully provides pronunciation for his last name in his email signature: ruh GOO see uh) comes from WBUR, one of the country’s flagship public radio stations. I haven’t met his wife yet, but she served as Admissions Coordinator for Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. They are a sharp young couple, and I’m thrilled to have them in Macon. Adam and I chatted at length about our ideas for working with students, forging a genuine partnership with The Telegraph, and making a difference in the community. What really excited me was seeing Adam’s enthusiasm for the community. He and his wife were looking for a place they could really plug into, and he immediately saw Macon as that place. (I also love that he’s hosting an event in Boston called “Lounge Lit: Transgressions”. The more off-kilter events we can have here, the better.)

Adam will serve as the local host of “Morning Edition” and as site supervisor, working with CCJ students to expand community coverage. He joins a fantastic team with Josephine Bennett continuing as bureau chief. As GPB listeners statewide (and especially Maconites) know, Josephine is a great asset for Macon. In my short time here, I’ve seen firsthand (we’re officemates until our new building is done) her professionalism and great concern for the community. I’ve seen her work with students, overheard her story meetings, and watched her put together statewide stories and one piece for NPR nationwide. She is great with students, has a plethora of story ideas (including one Erin Brockovich-type story that I’m really excited about), and is tirelessly dedicated. She also has an entrepreneurial streak that will serve our students well; one of the reasons she has filed more national stories than many others is that she staked out an unsexy, under-covered area: farming. GPB itself cleaned up at this year’s Emmy awards, won several radio awards from the Georgia Associated Press Broadcaster’s Association (including honorable mention for Josephine as Best Anchor/Reporter), and two Murrow awards.

Meanwhile, Adam’s new partners at The Telegraph won 18 Georgia Press Association awards this year, and Ed Grisamore won the Georgia Author of the Year Award (from the oldest literary awards in the Southeast). I continue to be impressed by everyone at The Telegraph. Despite the challenges their industry is facing, they’ve retained exceptionally talented reporters, photographers and leadership. And Mercer continues its march to be one of the nation’s leading institutions of higher education and a training ground for service-oriented leaders. In addition to the Center for Collaborative Journalism, The McDuffie Center for Strings is growing in worldwide prestige (with an entrepreneurial bent that I love!), the medical school continues its statewide expansion and joins a newly organized Health Sciences Center, we’ve had four Fulbright fellows in the last three years (including one recent journalism graduate, now writing for The Telegraph), we became one of 25 schools in the Stamps Scholars program, the College Hill Corridor project–initiated and largely housed in Mercer–has become a leading example of how to revitalize a community, our service learning programs (including the international Mercer On Mission) have real impact, we just graduated our latest class with enrollment continuing to expand across the 11 colleges and schools while maintaining our place as a top 10 liberal arts institution, and a new, non-scholarship football program joins Georgia’s only NCAA Division I Lacrosse program and a basketball team coming off its best year ever with a CIT national championship. (Yes, I’ve drunk the Kool-Aid on Mercer and Macon and have started my own little factory.)

When I arrived in town, several people talked about the Center as part of “the rising tide at Mercer.” I would say I’m part of a rising tide at three institutions and a region. Adam, welcome aboard. You’re in for a ride.