Medill Issues Journalism School Diplomas With Typo

By Lisa White in News on Jun 23, 2014 8:55PM

Everybody makes mistakes but sometimes the irony of one simple blunder is just too perfect that you have to pause and appreciate it with a little laughter. Such was the case last weekend when about 30 graduates of Northwestern's prestigious Medill School of Journalism, Media, and Integrated Marketing Communications received their diplomas with a very obvious spelling error.

In bold type on the diplomas the word "Integrated" was missing the "n." If you aren't familiar with the "Medill F," it is the supposed grade given to a Medill student's academic work with even the most minor factual error. Given this bit of information, a glaring typo for a graduate as they head out the door is a pretty great moment to pause and laugh at the absurdity of things. Maybe this was the last proofreading test for those graduating or perhaps the registrar’s office just felt left out and wanted their own "Medill F" as well.

After Medill alum Kit Fox posted a photo of the typo, it has been making journalists snicker in newsrooms all weekend. Jim Romenesko received an update from Desiree Hanford, Northwestern’s director of undergraduate education, regarding the perfectly timed typo:

“It appears that about 30 of the more than 250 diplomas given out at Saturday’s two graduation ceremonies had a spelling error. The diplomas are issued by the university, so we will work with the NU registrar’s office Monday to provide new diplomas to these students.”

We see it as a good lesson for recent grads. Everyone, even at the most important moments and with the best backgrounds, makes mistakes. We are simply human. Especially those in the writing world. If you need further proof that even the cream of the crop spells things wrong on the regular, check out the daily corrections page for The New York Times. So have a little laugh and welcome these recent grads to the reality that life can be difficult and hilarious at the same time.