April 6, 2010: UNH Journalism Program presents 2010 Donald Murray Visiting Journalist: Dana Jennings, '80 
The UNH Journalism program is proud to welcome Dana Jennings, '80 to campus as the 2010 Donald Murray Visiting Journalist. Since graduating from UNH, Mr. Jennings has been a featured writer at the New York Times for 17 years, where he has edited for both Sports and news sections and written for every department from Styles to Home to the Book Review.
When he was diagnosed with prostate cancer two years ago, Mr. Jennings did what any self-respecting journalist would do: he wrote about it. He began a column for the New York Times' Well blog, submitting every few weeks tightly-written essays about his treatment, his thoughts, his recovery. Soon his entries were receiving hundreds of readers' responses. Two of the columns were so lauded that they were selected to appear in "The Best American Medical Writing 2009." On April 6th, Dana Jennings will present a talk titled "My Brief Life as a Woman: a Veteran Journalist-turns Cancer Blogger."
Mr. Jennings is also a freelance magazine writer (his work has appeared in a variety of publications, including Esquire and New England Monthly), a novelist, a children's book author, and a memoirist. In November 2010 Doubleday publishers will release Jennings' latest memoir, "What a Difference a Dog Makes; Big Lessons on Life, Love, and Healing from a Small Pooch."
Sponsored by the journalism program, the Donald Murray Visiting Journalist Program brings accomplished alumni journalists to campus each year for week-long residencies during which they conduct classes, work with students and student media, and give a public lecture. Recent visiting alums include former TV anchorwoman Natalie Jacobson and sportswriter Jackie MacMullan. This event is free and open to the public.
For more information about this year's Visiting Journalist, please contact Sue Hertz, director of the UNH Journalism Program, at 603-862-3966 or susan.hertz@unh.edu
