Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications at Penn State2016-2017
This Annual Report provides a snapshot of the Bellisario College of Communications. In this brief recap, you get a sense of our global reach, world-class faculty, alumni engagement and abundance of student resources. We are an unquestioned educational destination for mass communications students.
2 Students selected for the highly competitive MLB.com internship program
2 Students (the maximum possible) among 50 nationally honored by the American Advertising Federation through its Most Promising Minority Program
2 Faculty members honored for their teaching
John Beale, University-wide Atherton Award for Teaching Excellence Yael Warshel, second place in an international teaching contest sponsored by the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication
2 Faculty members earned major awards from the International Communication Association
S. Shyam Sundar, ICA Fellow Mary Beth Oliver, B. Aubrey Fisher Mentorship Award
2 Majors among top 12 in students enrolled at Penn State
Advertising/Public Relations Journalism
2 Online programs developed to address timely topics
Digital Multimedia Design, underway Digital Media and Journalism, beginning summer 2018
3 Graduate students honored for their teaching
Azeta Hatef, Harold F. Martin Graduate Assistant Outstanding Teaching Award Sushma Kumble and Chun Yang, shared the Djung Tchoi Graduate Teaching Award
3 Nationally-recognized communications professionals honored by the Arthur W. Page Center for Integrity in Public Communication at inaugural awards program at the Grand Hyatt in New York City
Ann Barkelew of FelishmanHillard Dick Martin of AT&T Alan Murray of Fortune Magazine
Top-Three Regional finish for students competing in the American Advertising Federation National Student Advertising Competition
5 Consecutive years members of the Student Film Organization have visited the Sundance Film Festival
5 Students, faculty and staff who earned University-wide awards
5 Students who earned awards in the Broadcast Education Association Super-Regional Creative Works Competition
5 Alumni who earned Alumni Society Board awards
Alumni Achievement: Lou Prato Outstanding Alumni: Nina Jack Anderson Communications Contributor: Barbara Palmer Emerging Professional: Tyler Walk Excellence in Teaching: Kevin Hagopian
6Students who served as student marshals
Spring 2017, Lindsay Miller, Jesse Pepperman, Sabriana Pimentel, Emma Shellhamer, Danielle Wegman, Min Xian Fall 2016, Sabrina Evans Summer 2016, Brittney Lee
6 Alumni who earned major Penn State Alumni Association Awards
Alumni Fellow: Mary Meder, Tom Ortenberg Alumni Achievement: Shannon Furman, Melissa Schipke Distinguished Alumni: Don Roy King, Mary Beth Long
6 Alumni who returned as coaches for 17 students at annual Short Doc Workshop
7 Students whose work was honored with National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, College/University Production Awards
7th Overall finish for the Bellisario College in the annual William Randolph Hearst Foundation’s annual Journalism Awards Program
In the past decade Penn State has the best average finish of any school in the Northeast
8 Students who spent a week in Baltimore, reporting on gentrification in the inner city as part of a multimedia storytelling partnership with Morgan State University
8 Students who conducted undergraduate research thesis presentations during an annual Scholars Roundtable
Topics included corporate social responsibility, media framing, profitable journalism in the digital age, search engine optimization, and Super Bowl commercials
9 Consecutive years CommRadio students have covered the NFL Draft on location
9 First-place finishes by students in Society of Professional Journalists Region 1 Mark of Excellence competition
9 Faculty and staff who earned Deans’ Excellence Awards in the Bellisario College
10 Days spent by nine-student team in Rio covering the Paralympics as part of a partnership with The Associated Press (making their content available worldwide) and the University of Georgia
11 Countries represented among members of the graduating Class of 2017
11 Projects completed by CommAgency, a student-run production agency overseen by a full-time faculty director, in its inaugural year of operation
11 Penn State units that participated in annual entrepreneurship retreat coordinated by Anne Hoag, associate professor of telecommunications and director of the University’s entrepreneurship minor
12 Consecutive years that communications students have produced the live stream of the Penn State Homecoming Parade
13th Annual Penn State Powwow, the University’s signature diversity event
Coordinated by John Sanchez, associate professor of journalism, Powwow drew hundreds of participants and presenters from across the country and thousands of attendees from central Pennsylvania and beyond
16 Films screened at the State Theatre during the annual Blue and White Film Festival
10 documentaries, three experimental and three narrative films showcased student-produced work
20 Alumni events conducted during the year
11 on campus 9 off campus in New York City, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, Hershey/Harrisburg, and Philadelphia
20 Years of expertise, service and research for Institute for Information Policy
21 Papers presented by Bellisario College of Communications researchers at the Association for Education in Journalism in Mass Communication international conference, with three among best in their respective divisions
21 States represented among members of the graduating Class of 2017
22 Percent of Bellisario College students from underrepresented groups
24 Alumni participated in initial video shoots for the rollout of #journalismmatters campaign
24 Faculty members and graduate students who provided presentations, served as panelists and participated in workshops at the annual conference of the International Communication Association
29 Communications-specific clubs and organizations in the Bellisario College
46 Worldwide partners, including the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications, that were selected as partners with Google News Lab, which provides tools and support to train the next generation of journalists in their classrooms
50 Students who earned certificates for completing academic requirements of the John Curley Center for Sports Journalism
128 Countries where people watched some part of the 46-hour Penn State Dance Marathon (THON) webcast produced by communications students
More than 19,000 viewers watched during final hour
233 Students who completed an international experience
240 Course sections with 20 or fewer students offered during the academic year
375 Recruiters, representing 150 companies, at two communications-specific job fairs—JobExpo on campus and Success in the City in New York City
441 For-credit internships completed by communications students
500 People—a capacity crowd—attended the annual student-produced film showcase, the Blue and White Film Festival
961 Undergraduate students earned degrees
1,012 Participants attended alumni events, on and off campus, during the year
2,709 Students in the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications during the 2016-17 academic year
15,358 Social media connections
LinkedIn 7,732 Twitter 4,578 Facebook 2,158 Instagram 890
$285,000 Gifts ($275,000 and $10,000) from alumna Ellen Foster to endow the Foster-Foreman Conference of Distinguished Writers and serve as additional support to the Lawrence G. Foster Award for Excellence in Public Relations, respectively
500,000 Combined miles traveled by students and faculty for “embedded courses”
Embedded courses combine semester-long, on-campus instruction with hands-on, intensive work on location. Journalism students traveled to Panama, film-video and telecommunications students to Hungary, and media studies students to South Africa.
$1 million Gift from alumnus Stanley Degler to endow the Stanley E. Degler Washington Program, which began its third decade of serving students in the nation’s capital during the 2016-17 academic year
$1 million-plus Value of equipment available for student use, including cameras, lights, microphones and much more
$30 million Gift from Donald P. Bellisario to endow the Bellisario College and provide funding for scholarships, faculty support, programs and the creation of the Donald P. Bellisario Media Center
Gift announced April 21, 2017