Editor’s Note: Courtney Rozen is a member of The Eagle Advisory Board. She was not involved in the pitching, reporting or writing of this article.
Twenty-three years ago, the School of Communication changed: that’s when professor Amy Eisman joined the faculty. After fostering a community of student and professional journalists as a professor, with an extensive resume as a reporter and editor while still finding time to work within the community, she has retired. Her impact has now been honored with a new scholarship in her name: The Amy Eisman Innovation in Journalism Scholarship.
The new scholarship, according to an American University release, “will aid young journalists who have a passion for innovation in Journalism in achieving their dreams and the School of Communication in fostering excellence.”
Eisman started her career in communications after graduating from AU with her Master's degree from SOC in 1976. She then went on to report at the Montgomery County Sentinel, Baltimore News American and Dallas Times Herald.
From there, she moved to USA Today as cover story editor and then onto USA Weekend as executive editor. Before teaching at the University, she was also managing editor at AOL, working on the website’s welcome screen.
While at AU, she held multiple positions, including director of the journalism division, assistant professor and director of writing programs. She also provided her expertise as a consultant for The Eagle.
“It's humbling. Again, it's a reflection of all my colleagues. I can't say that enough. It's too a reflection of all the students,” Eisman said. “When the dean mentioned it to me, I was floored.”
Longtime coworker and SOC professor John Watson described Eisman as “all-encompassing.”
“She's smart, she's dedicated, she's compassionate, she's empathetic, she's all the good stuff, right?” Watson said. “She should be saint Amy.”
Professor Eisman also greatly impacted the students at AU, whether she was their professor or not. Gabe Ferris, a SOC and School of Public Affairs 2023 graduate, explained that even though he never had professor Eisman in class, she shared “so much advice and so much wisdom” in her office hours. If asked to describe her in one word, Ferris said it would be “force.”
“What I mean by that is she just carries so much with her in terms of her experience and also her abilities,” Ferris said. “But she not only carries that with her, she also pays it forward and gives it to others.”
And her impact has been felt by many more, including former editor-in-chief of The Eagle and MA/SOC alumna, Courtney Rozen, who is currently the DOGE reporter at Reuters.
“I think that's what's important about it being in her name specifically, is that is what she represents,” Rozen said. “Solid journalistic values, but also this incredible capacity to evolve.”
Now that professor Eisman is retired, she said the best is yet to come while she looks for her next passion.
“I want to work with communities to give voices where people are voiceless,” Eisman said about her next five years. “And maybe it means supporting art, maybe it means supporting journalists. Maybe it means supporting somebody else.”
Even though Eisman is retired, she can still be found on campus supporting the AU community by teaching COMM-724: Reporting of Public Affairs as an adjunct faculty member.
There have been no recipients of the scholarship yet, but contributions to help the next generation of journalists can be made here.
This article was edited by Payton Anderson, Abigail Hatting and Walker Whalen. Copy editing done by Sabine Kanter-Huchting and Ariana Kavoossi.
