Shayla Waugh

The new spring semester is bringing a change to the Collegian. A full-time advisor position has been added to the staff of the paper.

Sherry Fuller-Bordewyk was chosen by the Department of Student Affairs to fill the advisor position. She will fill the full-time paid position in an 18-month appointment. This will be Bordewyk’s second experience working with the Collegian as she worked as the managing editor at the paper from 1985 until 1986 when she was a student at SDSU.

Marysz Rames, vice president of student affairs, said discussion about hiring an advisor has been ongoing for several years. The final decision to add the position was made after a consultant, who was hired last summer to critique the paper, made the suggestion.

Rames said the decision came down to obtaining funding sources and making the position work. She said the position was created after gaining funding support from the Students’ Association and the university.

“I’m really excited about the advisor position and I think this is a great step in helping take the Collegian to the next level,” said Rames.

Bordewyk’s role at the Collegian will be to advise the student staff on all issues regarding the newspaper, develop a business plan for the paper and work on meeting the technological needs of the paper.

Bordewyk said it is very important to understand that the students will retain control over the content of the Collegian.

“I am very excited about this opportunity. My first focus at the Collegian will be on the business and advertising end and in working towards having the paper operating in the black, which I’m confident we can do,” said Bordewyk.

One reason for bringing an advisor to the staff is to provide continuity at the paper from year to year.

“The biggest reason an advisor was needed was for continuity,” she said. “When students are the staff of a newspaper, it creates a high turnover. An advisor provides stability in this regard.”

Bordewyk said she decided to take the position because of her belief in newspapers, and her belief in the strong role that a college newspaper plays in a campus community. She said she has a strong love for the Collegian because of her former experiences as a student staff member.

“I want today’s staff members to be able to look back 20 years from now and be proud of the work they did and enjoy the memories of their time spent at SDSU,” she said.

Bordewyk graduated from SDSU in 1986 with a bachelor’s degree in journalism. She then became a reporter and copy editor at the Aberdeen American News. She edited the Brookings Register from 1989 to 1991 and became an assistant editor for the St. Cloud Times for about a year. Bordewyk returned to Brookings with her family in 1995 to begin teaching part-time in SDSU’s Journalism Department and working on a graduate degree in journalism.

Kristin Marthaler, the Collegian’s editor-in-chief, said she is optimistic about the change.

“I’m really excited that we have an advisor. This has been a long awaited addition. Both alumni and SDSU members have worked very hard in helping the Collegian,” said Marthaler.

#1.884796:977040021.jpg:sherrymugshot_tc.jpg:Sherry Fuller-Bordewyk has been hired to fill the new full-time advisor position at the Collegian.:Ty Carlson