The Aarons Program is NLGJA’s tribute to our founder, pioneering journalist Roy Aarons, who passed away November 28, 2004. Roy, a member of the faculty at the USC Annenberg School of Communication, was passionate about training the next generation of journalists and communications professionals. His contributions at USC included a breakthrough program called Sexual Orientation Issues in the News (SOIN). Roy’s commitment to bringing awareness of LGBT issues to schools of journalism and communications has dramatically impacted coverage of those issues. 

All of NLGJA’s education-related resources — the Educators Toolbox, Student Projects at the National Convention, NLGJA Excellence in Student Journalism Award, Internships and Scholarship Fund — now fall under the Leroy F. Aarons Journalism Education Program. These resources are designed to provide tools to both LGBT and non-LGBT educators and students, to help them understand and cover the complex and rapidly-changing issues around sexual orientation, media and society. 

The Aarons Program is consistent with and designed in part to help educators meet standards adopted by the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications (ACEJMC) that require colleges of journalism and mass communications to include sexual orientation in their curricula. Many of the resources you will find here have been developed with the help of faculty and scholars who are members of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC). 

We are honored to continue Roy’s vision through NLGJA’s work in the journalism industry and we are grateful to the distinguished members of the Leroy F. Aarons Journalism Education Program Advisory Board for their contributions. 

We invite you to explore the resources offered by the Leroy F. Aarons Journalism Education Program and to give us feedback. This site will continually expand and grow with new features.

Please send questions and suggestions to NLGJA Deputy Executive Director Tom Avila at tavila@nlgja.org or 202-588-9888, ext. 17.