Elizabeth Oppe, a teaching associate professor at the College, is the recipient of
the Beginning Service Award, a Heebink Award for Distinguished Service to the state
of West Virginia. Established in 1992, the award is given to faculty and staff
who have “used the unique resources of the university” as well as their own professional
experience to provide an educational or public service benefit to West Virginians.
Oppe will receive a $2,000 honoraria for professional development support.
Reed, who became dean of the then-named P.I. Reed School of Journalism in 2004, succeeds
Joyce McConnell,
recently named president of Colorado State University.
At nine years old, Hilde Lysiak was the first to break the news of a homicide in
her hometown in Pennsylvania. She’s 12 now and about to add another “first” to
her pre-teen resume. On May 10, Lysiak will give the 2019 commencement address
for the
West Virginia University
Reed College of Media. She will be the youngest commencement speaker ever at
WVU and maybe in the country.
Hilde, who is the youngest member of the national Society of Professional Journalists,
is the publisher of the
Orange Street News in Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania, which she founded in 2014.
The paper has 700-plus paid subscribers and has been read by millions more online.
In addition to breaking the murder story, she has exposed corruption at a local
fire department leading to the firing of top officials, and her exclusive reports
on an alleged KKK member forced the suspect to leave town.