Media College News

Each academic year, the WVU Reed College of Media recognizes faculty members for their exceptional teaching and innovative research. This year, awards were presented to Joel Beeson, Dana Coester and Mary Kay McFarland at the College’s annual Spring Honors Ceremony.

Max Russell (BSJ, 2023) and Tristan Haley (BSJ, 2022) are gaining hands-on experience in advertising and public relations through competitive summer internship programs. Russell is one of just 11 students in the nation to be selected as a 2022 Stickell Honors Intern, and Haley is one of 40 finalists participating in the International Radio & Television Society (IRTS) Summer Fellowship Program. 

Media students –and professionals—often need to interview their sources. You want to make sure you’re prepared. Whether you’re new to interviewing or a seasoned pro, there is always room to improve your skills.

A Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, the designer of USA TODAY’s first prototypes, the public address announcer for WVU football and basketball and a social justice activist were among the alumni recognized at the WVU Reed College of Media’s annual Spring Honors Ceremony.

Each year, the College seeks nominations and presents alumni awards for lifetime achievement; service; support; and success within the first 10 years post-graduation. The 2021–22 awardees include Margie Mason (BSJ, 1997), J. Ford Huffman (BSJ, 1972), Bill Nevin (M.S. IMC, 2006) and Chelsea Fuller (BSJ, 2011).

Students from the West Virginia University Reed College of Media received top honors at the international Broadcast Education Association (BEA) Festival of Media Arts. BEA annually receives more than 1,450 entries from 300-plus participating schools around the world.

Students in Teaching Assistant Professor David Smith’s spring 2021 Immersive Storytelling course were awarded Best of Festival in the Student Interactive Multimedia and Emerging Technologies Competition for their project, Distanced Immersion. Smith and his students collaborated with Professor Antonio Roda and students from the University of Seville in Spain to create a series of interactive multimedia experiences using augmented reality and volumetric video, more commonly known as holograms.

On Friday, May 13, the West Virginia University Reed College of Media celebrated its May Commencement in person at the WVU Coliseum for the first time in three years.

More than 180 College of Media graduates attended the ceremony, earning bachelor’s degrees in Advertising and Public Relations, Interactive Design for Media, Journalism, Multidisciplinary Studies, and Sports and Adventure Media, and master’s degrees in Data Marketing Communications, Digital Marketing Communications, Integrated Marketing Communications and Journalism.

Students from Martin Hall Agency, the Reed College of Media’s student-run advertising and public relations firm, carried out a semester-long campaign to spread awareness about the First Amendment to educate college students on attacks against the amendment and raise awareness about the importance of defending its freedoms.

“This campaign’s main goal is to educate all WVU students,” said Lily Frye, junior capstone student and digital director of the team. “Through research, we found that there are a lot of issues with college students not knowing what the First Amendment truly means to us as American citizens.”

Students in Martin Hall Agency (MHA), the Reed College of Media’s student-run public relations and advertising firm, designed and launched the pilot version of a health disparities simulation.

The project is the culmination of a two-semester long collaboration between the Reed College of Media, the WVU School of Public Health, the School of Pharmacy, the HSC Office of Interprofessional Education and the STEPS Center and is funded by a grant from the WVU Office of the Provost.

Over the past two semesters, students in Martin Hall Agency, the Reed College of Media’s student-run advertising and public relations firm, have partnered with the Morgantown Special Committee on Unsheltered Homelessness to create a comprehensive campaign plan to raise awareness and change the dehumanizing language surrounding the unsheltered community.

This semester, their efforts led to the launch of a Humans of Morgantown art experience: Neighborhoods Beyond Neighborhoods. The exhibit featured works about and by unsheltered neighbors and included original live music, photography, paintings, poems and ceramics.

A group of WVU Reed College of Media students recently travelled to San Francisco for the Game Development Conference, the nation’s largest event for professionals in the game design industry.

The annual conference provides an opportunity for professionals, students and those interested in gaming-related careers to meet industry leaders, exchange ideas, and discuss the industry’s future.