PNA's Susan Morgan retires

As April draws to a close, the Pennsylvania Newspaper Association will bid farewell to Susan Morgan, the PNA Foundation diversity and educational outreach director. Morgan is retiring after 12 years with the association. During her tenure she has worked diligently to interest young people in the newspaper, and to increase diversity in our ranks.

Morgan, a retired school teacher, joined the Pennsylvania Newspaper Association July 1, 1992, as the Newspaper in Education Coordinator, becoming the first full-time NIE coordinator at a state newspaper association. Her contributions to our members have been dramatic and numerous.

“Susan’s contributions to this organization – and to our member newspapers throughout Pennsylvania – are too numerous to mention,” said Tim Williams, president of The Pennsylvania Newspaper Association. “Susan is fond of saying that when she took this job, I told her she was leaving the four walls of the classroom behind for a wide-open world of limitless opportunities. She embraced that challenge and experienced tremendous success.”

Morgan built the NIE program and nurtured the state NIE committee. She was recognized by NAA’s award for NIE program excellence five times – every year she entered. In 2002, the year following the fifth award, NAA notified her that she would receive the newly created NIE Hall of Fame Award. She was presented this award at the NAA’s NIE Conference that year in Hershey, a conference co-sponsored by the PNA that Morgan helped organize as a committee member. The Hall of Fame Award gave other states a chance to win since the PNA program cannot enter again until 2005.

Morgan developed two programs sponsored by the PNA Foundation -- the Minority Job Fair, which was held in cooperation with the PNA diversity committee, ASNE and various newspapers and the Pennsylvania Citizen Bee, a program which promoted citizenship among high school students.

She has worked closely with the Pennsylvania Scholastic Press Association to develop journalists of tomorrow. In more recent years, Morgan coordinated the PNA Newspaper Carrier of the Year Awards program. 

She follows her husband Phil, a former professor of music at Lebanon Valley College, into retirement. They plan to spend time on home improvement, travel and visiting with their children and grandson.

The PNA Foundation will continue its commitment with the NIE program following Morgan's departure. Anyone with questions regarding NIE may contact Connie McNamara at (717) 703-3002 or by e-mail.