Identity elements
Reference code
Name and location of repository
Level of description
Title
Date(s)
- 1985-2017 (Creation)
Extent
3.29 linear feet (2 record boxes, 1 oversize box)
Name of creator
Biographical history
Professor Emerita Mary Peterson Arnold was born in December 1947. While a student at Dakota Wesleyan University in Mitchell, she worked as a city desk reporter and women’s editor for the Mitchell Daily Republic. After earning a master’s degree in English from the University of South Dakota, she spent four years from 1973 to 1977 as a reporter for the Vermillion Plain Talk.
Arnold later taught high school journalism and served as a newspaper and yearbook adviser in Minnesota and Iowa. She joined the faculty of the University of Iowa in 1986, where she earned a doctorate in mass communications. At Iowa, she directed the Iowa High School Press Association and coordinated summer journalism workshops.
She subsequently served as a professor at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana, where she directed the American Society of Newspaper Editors High School Journalism Institute. From 1989 to 2004, Arnold served on the board of the Student Press Law Center, including a term as president.
From 1996 to 2001, Arnold worked in Washington, D.C., managing the Newspaper Association of America Foundation’s high school journalism and youth outreach programs. During this period, she helped establish a student newspaper and a youth editorial program. Afterward, she returned to Ball State University, where she taught journalism courses and directed a high school journalism workshop for two years.
Arnold also worked as a consultant and author for the Media Management Center at Northwestern University, where she wrote a series of four books focusing on women in senior management positions within news organizations.
In 2002, Arnold was hired by South Dakota State University as head of the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication. She retired from the university in 2017.
Content and structure elements
Scope and content
The collection documents the professional career of Dr. Mary Peterson Arnold as a journalism educator, administrator, researcher, and advocate for scholastic journalism and student press rights. Materials include course syllabi and instructional content for undergraduate and graduate journalism courses at South Dakota State University, particularly media law, international women’s issues, and science writing. The collection contains correspondence, sabbatical records, promotion and tenure materials, departmental reviews, and institutional branding records reflecting her administrative and faculty roles. Also present are research papers, published and unpublished writings, conference materials, reports, and policy documents addressing high school journalism, student freedom of expression, diversity and recruitment, women in media management, and journalism education. Awards, plaques, certificates, photographs, and commemorative items document professional recognition from national journalism and education organizations. Records related to high school journalism associations and youth media programs further illustrate Arnold’s sustained engagement with scholastic journalism at the state and national levels.
The collection documents journalism education and media law instruction in the late twentieth and early twenty first centuries, with particular emphasis on scholastic journalism, student press freedom, and the role of women in news media leadership. It reflects national professional networks in journalism education and records institutional leadership and curriculum development at South Dakota State University. The materials support research on journalism pedagogy, youth media advocacy, gender equity in media organizations, and the professionalization of high school journalism programs.
System of arrangement
Conditions of access and use elements
Conditions governing access
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In Copyright This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses, you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).
Materials in this collection may be subject to Title 17, Section 108 of the United States Copyright Act. Users are responsible for ensuring compliance with copyright, privacy, trademark, and other applicable rights for their intended use. Obtaining all necessary permissions is the user's responsibility. Written authorization from the copyright and/or other rights holders is required for publication, distribution, or any use of protected materials beyond what is permitted under fair use. .sdstate.edu/sdsu-archives-and-special-collections/researcher-registration-form)
The collection is open for research, but please note that the materials in the Archives do not circulate and can only be used In the SDSU Archives and Special Collections Reading Room.
Please contact us in advance so we can prepare for your visit.
If you cannot visit the Archives in person, please reach out to us. We will do our best to help you find the information you need.
In most cases, the materials in this collection have not been digitized and are not available online.
South Dakota State University Archives and Special Collections supports access to the materials in its collections. However, access to some items may be restricted due to their fragile condition, donor agreements, or other considerations.
If you would like to know more about the contents of the collection, please contact the SDSU Archives at: Telephone: 605-688-5094 Email: arcrefs@sdstate.edu
Physical access
Technical access
Conditions governing reproduction
Reproduction of materials from the collection is subject to the following conditions:
- Permission: Written permission must be obtained from the SDSU Archives for any reproduction, publication, or quotation of materials.
- Copyright: Users are responsible for complying with copyright laws and securing any necessary permissions from copyright holders.
- Fragile Materials: Some items may not be reproduced due to their fragile condition.
- Charges: Reproduction charges may apply, and users will be informed of any costs in advance.
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Acknowledgment: Any reproduced material must include proper acknowledgment of the South Dakota State University Archives and Special Collections as the source.
For more information or to request permission, please contact the SDSU Archives.
Languages of the material
English
Scripts of the material
Language and script notes
Finding aids
Acquisition and appraisal elements
Custodial history
Immediate source of acquisition
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling information
Accruals
Related materials elements
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related archival materials
When It All Began Journalism Minority Recruiting & High School Students, Mary Arnold and Njeri Fuller, [Washington, D.C.] : Distributed by ERIC Clearinghouse, 1992.
Mapping the Territory A Conceptual Model of Scholastic Journalism, Mary Arnold, Distributed by ERIC Clearinghouse, 1990.
Student Freedom of Expression and High School Journalism Advisers A Legal and Educational Dilemma, Mary Peterson Arnold, Distributed by ERIC Clearinghouse, 1995.
Related descriptions
Notes element
General note
Copyright and Use Statement
In Copyright This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses, you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).
Materials in this collection may be subject to Title 17, Section 108 of the United States Copyright Act. Users are responsible for ensuring compliance with copyright, privacy, trademark, and other applicable rights for their intended use. Obtaining all necessary permissions is the user's responsibility. Written authorization from the copyright and/or other rights holders is required for publication, distribution, or any use of protected materials beyond what is permitted under fair use.
Specialized notes
Alternative identifier(s)
Description control element
Rules or conventions
Sources used
Access points
Subject access points
Place access points
Name access points
- Arnold, Mary Peterson (Subject)