The Ball State University photojournalism assistant professor recently received a grant to develop a series of articles on working and job satisfaction in America.

The award, one of 19 given to professors from 16 different U.S. colleges and universities this year, is from the Freedom Forum Journalism Professors Publishing Program.

The grants help former full-time journalists maintain their professional skills while teaching. Former print or broadcast journalists serving on the faculty of journalism and mass communication schools, departments and programs are eligible for the awards, which defray out-of-pocket expenses for professional projects.

Price, who worked for the News-Press in Fort Myers, Florida for 21 years before starting his teaching career, said he was excited by the opportunity to return to the field.

"This is the first chance I’ve had to do some journalism since I started teaching," he said.

Price will use the grant to produce a series of articles titled Working 2000: A Photographic Exploration of America.

"I like to watch people work," he said. "I like to see how they enjoy their work---more than I like to work myself. The series is about how people view their jobs and how they get self-identity from their jobs. It’s a timely topic for the start of the millennium. I’d like to compare people in traditional jobs to those in technological jobs."

A cool-down walker at a race track is one example of what Price considers a traditional job.

"Those guys have had the same job for more than 500 years," he said. "Their job will always be the same unless they start using mechanical horses. How do they compare to people in technology---do they get the same job satisfaction?"

Other projects sponsored by the Freedom Forum grants include articles on the history of the death penalty in Iowa, a book detailing the tension between Alabama’s rural past and urban present and a video on American Indian broadcasting operations in the Dakotas.

The winners, who received a total of $49,993, were chosen from 46 applicants by a committee of professional journalists. The program has issued 157 awards totaling $512,000 since 1987.