San José State University

Amelia Ashley-Ward has been a strong voice for more inclusive journalism throughout her career. Newspaper publisher, editor and journalist, Ms. Ashley-Ward received her bachelor of arts in journalism and photojournalism in 1979 from San José State University. During her final year at San José State, she interned at the Sun-Reporter Publishing Company in San Francisco and was hired as a reporter and photojournalist when she graduated. In 1984, Ms. Ashley-Ward was promoted to managing editor of the Sun-Reporter, and 10 years later, received another promotion to publisher. While working at the Sun-Reporter, her photographs were published in People and Jet magazines and her articles published in the African American magazine Sepia. In 1997, she bought the Sun-Reporter Publishing Company, acquiring all three of the company’s newspapers: the California Voice, the Metro and the Sun-Reporter. Reflecting her strong commitment to communities, she also created the nonprofit Sun-Reporter Foundation in 2004, and was the founding president of the Young Adult Christian Movement.

Ms. Ashley-Ward has received many honors and awards while working at the Sun-Reporter Publishing Company. The National Newspaper Publishers Association has awarded her with the 1980 Photojournalism Award, the 1981 Feature Writing Award and, in 1998, the organization elected her Publisher of the Year. In 1997, she received the Woman of the Year award from the San Francisco Black Chamber of Commerce.

Her accolades extend beyond the newspaper industry. In 2004, Ms. Ashley-Ward received the Alumnus of the Year award from San José State University and was the commencement speaker for the university's journalism department that same year. She also was honored in 2005 when she was selected Woman of the Year by California State Senator Carole Migden. In 2008, she was named one of the 49 Most Influential People in San Francisco by 7x7 Magazine. She served on the boards of the National Newspaper Publishers Association and the San Francisco branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

In recognition of her outstanding accomplishments and impact, the Board of Trustees of the California State University and San José State University are proud to confer upon Amelia Ashley-Ward the honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters.