listopadsteveValley City (CSi- VCSU)  Steven Listopad, assistant professor and director of student media at Valley City State University, received a Hugh M. Hefner First Amendment Award at a reception at the Playboy Mansion in Beverly Hills, Calif., on Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2015.

Listopad was honored for his work in support of the John Wall New Voices Act, a bill “which ensures the free-speech rights of journalism students in North Dakota public schools and colleges.” Listopad was a leading advocate of the bill, which unanimously passed the North Dakota legislature last session and went into effect in August 2015.

The Hefner Foundation cited Listopad “as a shining example to teachers everywhere when he helped his students craft the nation’s strongest and most comprehensive statutes protecting North Dakota student journalists.”

Other recipients of 2015 First Amendment Awards were Victor Navasky, editor of Nation magazine, who received a lifetime achievement award; James Risen, New York Times investigative reporter; writer/activist Malkia Amala Cyril; and professor/activist Zephyr Teachout.

The Hugh M. Hefner Foundation was established to work on behalf of individual rights in a democratic society.  The primary focus of the foundation is to support organizations that advocate for and defend civil rights and civil liberties.