Zina Kumok | Feb. 27, 2011
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| Photo by Jay Seawell, BAJ'09 |
| Former School of Journalism professor John Ahlhauser speaks to a group of Ernie Pyle Scholars during the School of Journalism celebration Thursday at the Tribune Tower in Chicago. The Road Show is one of several events set for the school's 100th anniversary. |
School of Journalism ambassadors and the freshman Ernie Pyle Scholar class met almost 150 alumni, including Chicago Tribune senior vice president and editor Gerould Kern, for the first of the school’s Road Shows celebrating 100 years of journalism at IU.
The reception at Tribune Tower included comments from Kern, fall Indiana Daily Student editor-in-chief Sarah Brubeck and journalism dean Brad Hamm. Brubeck spoke of her love for the IDS and how it has helped her become a better journalist.
Kern said the IDS was where his “clumsy prose was cultivated.”
“IU is the place I first learned to be a reporter, and it set me on my lifelong journey,” Kern, BA’71, told the group in his remarks.
Hamm spoke of the recent gifts the school has received from generous alumni and of the transitions the school has made in recent years. He emphasized the school being one of three within IU-Bloomington that attracts more than 50 percent of its students from outside Indiana.
Indiana Daily Student editor-in-chief Jake Wright said the reception was a great opportunity to meet alumni.
“It’s something we don’t get to do very often,” he said.
For Theresa Stevenson, BA’89, the reception was her first time at an IU alumni event after 11 years in Chicago. Stevenson is a brand manager for Luster Products, a hair care company.
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| Photo by Jay Seawell, BAJ'09 |
| Student media director Ron Johnson, National Sports Journalism director Tim Franklin, BA'83, and Steve Sanders, BA'84, talk during the reception. |
“I think the biggest thing is going to a school that’s given me a really good foundation in writing,” she said.
“It’s very nice to see all of the new, young students,” she said. “It gives me a sense of pride.”
Christopher Breach, BA’82, business editor for the Kankakee Daily Journal, recalled Terry English as one of the many good instructors he had at IU.
“He gave us a lot of hands-on knowledge of what it was like to work at a newspaper,” he said.
Tim Franklin, BA’83 and former sports editor for the Tribune, said he saw a lot of former colleagues at Thursday’s event.
“It’s really special for me because I worked at the Tribune for 17 years,” he said.
Franklin said he was happy to see current students speaking with alumni they had just met.
“It’s great to see the students are here and can hear stories of the past,” he said.
The group also showed prospective students around and told them of the benefits of an IU journalism education. The following day, students visited Chicago-area media organizations for tours and networking with still more alumni.
The reception was the first of the school’s Road Shows celebrating the 100th anniversary. More are scheduled in St. Petersburg, Fla., on March 16; Washington, D.C., on April 12; and New York City on May 17. Sept. 16-18, the Road Shows come home to Bloomington for a centennial weekend celebration.
More:
- Learn more about the Road Shows, the school’s history and other centennial events at the website.
- Read a report from the Chicago Tribune’s blog about the reception.
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