Changing of the Guard

• By Ralph C. Jensen
• June 01, 2021

Campus Security & Life Safety (CSLS) magazine has always been close to my heart and has a mission like no other. We are pleased to be the only print magazine in the industry dedicated to campus security and life safety. Fulfilling this mission requires the right kind of person to lead the way. We have, in the past, had those types of personalities serve as Senior Editor or Editor of the publication. But what I have found is that you can only hold a good editor down for so long. As other opportunities surfaced, these people have moved on outside the company or taken on another role.

After a careful and thoughtful search, I am pleased to introduce Matt Jones to our readership. He will serve as the senior editor of CSLS in addition to his duties as senior editor of Spaces- 4Learning, a sister publication and part of 1105 Media’s Infrastructure Solutions Group franchise.

Matt has been on staff several months now, and we have been bringing him into the fold to learn all the ins and outs of Campus Security and various other publications. He is ready to go: He’ll continue working closely with me through the end of the year, but with the next issue of CSLS, he’ll become the voice of the publication by authoring this column.

At the end of this year, Matt and I will change places, and he will write editorial contributions and work face-to-face with key members of the campus environment.

With this introduction, I want to share some background on Matt. He graduated from the University of Texas at Austin in 2010, and he earned a master’s degree in journalism from the University of North Texas in 2015. My introduction to him has shown a kind and studious journalist. Careful with words and facts, Matt will fill this position quite well.

Here is the quick outline we reviewed when considering his employment:

“I have a master's degree in journalism from the University of North Texas, with a concentration in narrative journalism; and two bachelor's degrees in Plan II Studies (a writing-intensive liberal arts honors program) and communication studies from UT-Austin. My strongest skills are writing, editing and proofreading.

“As a lifelong reader, I always knew my career would involve the English language. I have an uncanny eye and ear for irregularities in grammar, style, punctuation and flow. I love turning ideas into words—and not just words, but good words. I like organizing thoughts, synthesizing them into a whole, and giving them eloquence. I’m looking to continue to build a writing portfolio and help oversee a publication, either in print or digitally.”

I’m excited to bring Matt on board and hope you will encourage him as he makes this transition to Campus Security & Life Safety. I think you’ll find what I found in Matt—an advocate for excellence.

This article originally appeared in the May / June 2021 issue of Campus Security Today.