Journalism alumni return for Hall of Fame Friday when four new inductees will join ranks
The Department of Journalism will honor its all-star alumni nationwide tonight.
The eighth annual 2010 CMU Journalism Hall of Fame Banquet will be held at the Comfort Inn Hotel and Conference Center, 2424 S. Mission St. The event starts at 6 p.m. with a reception, followed a dinner at 7:15 p.m. and induction ceremony at 8:15 p.m.
This year’s ceremony will induct four alumni and award one honorary inductee.
“It’s another great class being inducted,” said Neil Hopp, director of student media. “It’s going to be a very exciting ninth year.”
The 2010 inductees include Cathaleen Curtiss, Richard L. “Dirk” Milliman II, John A. Palen and Keith Naughton.
Jim Wojcik, associate professor of journalism, said the event will be the same as it has been every year.
“We are expecting about 170 people to attend,” Wojcik said. “It is an excellent group of people being inducted.”
Other awards include an honorary recognition and the Young Journalist of the Year, which will be awarded to Mark W. Smith, a Detroit Free Press blogger, columnist and Web editor.
An honorary recognition will go to 1959 graduate Fred M. Mester, a retired circuit court judge of the Sixth Judicial District, who helped in establishing the Lem Tucker Journalism Scholarship in 1997.
Randy Lovely, editor and vice president of news at The Arizona Republic, was inducted into the CMU Journalism Hall of Fame in 2008. He said the 2008 induction ceremony was the first time he had visited CMU in 20 years.
“It was a great honor that really took me back in time,” Lovely said. “When I found out about the induction, I was most excited about getting to return to campus.”
Lovely, a 1986 alumnus, was made editor of the Arizona Republic in 2002 and promoted to executive editor and vice president in 2005. Lovely was named editor and vice president of news in 2008.
Hopp said Lovely is a great role model for today’s journalists.
“He helped transform the country’s 10th largest newspaper into a multi-platform digital information company,” Hopp said. “He did what CM Life did, only he did it at a major company.”
For more information, visit the CMU Journalism Hall of Fame website at www.ccfa.cmich.edu/jrnhof/.
