West Virginia University Reed College of Media

The WVU Reed College of Media is one of the sixteen colleges and schools at West Virginia University, located in Morgantown, West Virginia. It is currently housed in Martin Hall.

History

The WVU Reed College of Media was formerly known as the WVU P.I. Reed School of Journalism until July 1, 2014. It was created by Dr. Perley Isaac Reed. Dr. Reed arrived at West Virginia University in 1920 and was assigned to teach English and Journalism courses at the College of the Arts and Sciences. Soon, Reed made it his personal mission to expand the course load, which also included journalism history, editing, advertisement writing and trade and industrial journalism, in just a few years.

To gain further momentum, Reed used his involvement in the West Virginia State Newspaper Council to improve the press and its profitability. Using their political power they applied pressure and in the year 1927, Journalism became a department and later became a school in 1939.

The school did not have a building to call its home until 1953 when Martin Hall was given to the Journalism school. Prior to that, it had occupied only several rooms nearby in Woodburn Hall.

Location

West Virginia University’s Reed College of Media, has been located in Martin Hall since 1954. Although the College only began its stay at Martin Hall fifty four years ago, Martin Hall has been part of Woodburn Circle for decades longer.

On June 16, 1869, an assembly of people gathered on the property that would ultimately be used to build West Virginia University’s first new building. It took only $16,000 that was raised through the sale of the Monongalia Academy building, to build Martin Hall.

Martin Hall home of the WVU College of Media

In 1870, Martin Hall was erected by West Virginia University specifically for the use of students and faculty. It holds the distinction of being the oldest academic building on the West Virginia University campus.

Martin was modeled after French architecture. The roof slopes down at the sides and is flattened at the top which comes from the idea of a “Mansard roof” which is a style that originated in Paris, France.

The original hall built in 1870 looks much like it does today with only minor rehabilitation to improve the inside. In 1911, the clock that was located in a tower at the top of Martin was removed and placed on top of Woodburn hall, where it has remained the focal point of Woodburn Circle for almost one hundred years.

Throughout 1977-1978, Martin Hall underwent rehabilitation and a large addition was built onto the side of the building. Recently though, Martin Hall has been with going cleaning and has been revamped to make it more modern. Thanks to the College of Media Facilities Management and the Office of the Provost, Martin has undergone almost $1.5 million in repairs and upgrades.

Academic programs

The WVU College of Media offers two distinct undergraduate majors, two graduate programs and many different clubs and organizations. Internships at regional and national news stations, public relations firms and advertising agencies are common for students.^[2]

Undergraduate

Journalism: The journalism major at the WVU Reed College of Media prepares students for careers as multimedia journalists working in the fields of television, Internet, newspaper or magazine journalism. All students in the journalism major must complete a series of shared core requirements and a shared capstone experience. In addition, students select an area of emphasis (AOE), allowing them to specialize in a specific medium: print, television or visual journalism. ^[3]

Strategic Communications: As of Fall 2013, Public Relations and Advertising become two areas of emphasis within the new College’s new Strategic Communications major. Strategic Communications Core Courses The Strategic Communications major teaches students how to develop and produce persuasive and educational messages and integrated communications campaigns that employ both public relations and advertising tactics. Students in this major select an area of emphasis (AOE) in either Advertising or Public Relations to complement their integrated strategic communications coursework.^[4]

Graduate programs

“The WVU Reed College of Media offers two distinct Master’s degree programs — Journalism and the totally online Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) program, as well as IMC and Digital Marketing Communications (DMC) graduate certificate programs."^[5]

Master's Degree in Integrated Marketing Communications: The WVU Reed College of Media at West Virginia University was the first online Integrated Marketing Communications program in the country through which students could earn a master’s degree in Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC). "The curriculum is focused on providing students with practical, cutting-edge skills they can use in their professional lives, and members of the IMC faculty are accomplished educators and leading professionals in the industry. The IMC program attracts competitive students and faculty from all over the world."^[6]

Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) Doctoral Program: The WVU Reed College of Media plans to launch a doctoral program in Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) that would prepare graduates for careers in academia and targeted industry positions.^[7]

Clubs

The WVU Reed College of Media offers a variety of clubs for its students, depending on interests and majors. Each club is student-run and is sponsored by a faculty member from the College of Media.

Advertising Club: The Advertising Club at WVU provides a resume builder for students and can be vital in the networking process. The WVU Ad Club’s mission is to “bring insight and experience in the advertising business as well as connections with other advertising students.”^[8] West Virginia University: Perley Isaac Reed School of Journalism. This club is a local chapter of the American Advertising Federation and WVU students compete in the regional AAF competitions.

Ad Club Awards

• 1997—WVU Ad Club 1st Place in 5th district of the AAF National Student Advertising Competition
• 2004—WVU Ad Club 2nd Place in 5th district of the AAF National Student Advertising Competition

All Things Magazine: Following the design of the national organization, Ed 2010, this club offers aspiring magazine journalists information on how to make it in the magazine world. Resume workshops, guest speakers and networking opportunities are among many of Ed on Campus’ programs.^[9] Ed 2010’s founder and president, Chandra Czape Turner, came to speak at the WVU Reed College of Media in the fall of 2007—the first semester of the Ed on Campus’ WVU chapter.

Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA): The WVU chapter of PRSSA participates every year in the national conference and the Bateman Case Study Competition where they coordinate affairs for a student-run organization and design public relations campaigns.^[10]

Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ): WVU’s chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists follows the national organization’s mission of providing the truth in journalism, the “flow of information” and protection of the first amendment. The WVU chapter will soon be starting a nationwide petition to get other SPJ’s to join them in urging Congress to adopt a federal shield law—which would protect journalists from jail time if they refuse to give up their sources.^[11]

Name Change

On February 21st 2014, the Perley Isaac Reed School of Journalism announced that on July 1st its name will be changed to the Reed College of Media. ^[12]

References

External links

• The Daily Athenaeum student paper
• http://u92.wvu.edu/
• http://wvudownloads.wvu.edu/podcasts

Sources

• West Virginia University Official school site
• Atkins, Paul A. The First 50 Years: Journalism at WVU. Morgantown:, 1977.
• Struyk, Tara. "Martin Hall."
• Ravesloot, Todd. "Campus' Oldest Academic Building to Receive Major Upgrades this Summer." Facilities Management News: Spring, 2008.
• WVU Perley Isaac Reed School of Journalism. Ed. Kimberly Brown, Morgantown, 2007.