SRU Media Hall of Fame announces Class of 2018
May 16, 2018
SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. - The Slippery Rock University Media Hall of Fame has announced the inductees for its 2018 class. The Hall, which recognizes SRU alumni who have "evolved from an accomplished student at SRU to a person who has excelled at the professional level."
The nine inductees will be honored at 6 p.m., Oct. 12 in the Smith Student Center, Room 315.
Among the inductees will be a pair of "Lifetime Achievement" honorees in Bob Hitchcock and Robert Leffingwell.
Hitchcock, '85, has worked in television production as a videographer, director and producer. For the last 10 years, he has served as the editorial content director for the Walt Disney Company. In that role, he is in charge of all of Disney's social media channels and content distribution, including Disney Parks Live, a live streaming service where viewers can see live feeds from any of the company's theme parks all over the world.
Leffingwell worked as a professor at SRU for more than 17 years in the Communication Department. He also worked as on-air announcer and newscaster for WPIC-AM in Hermitage.
The 2018 induction ceremony will also feature the awarding of the Mike McHugh Undergrad Award for Excellence. The award was named for Mike McHugh, a former SRU professor who was a member of the 2016 inaugural HOF class. The award recognizes an outstanding SRU undergraduate student's work in the media. The 2018 winner is Brooke Henderson.
Henderson, a senior communications major from Monaca, is an active member of Rock Productions and served as the historian for the Lambda Sigma National Honor Society. As an intern with UPMC's Patient Experience and Communication Office, she developed print and digital materials for UPMC patients and visitors; managed publication production; and enforced UPMC's branding throughout the division.
The winner of the 2018 Jim Aronson Founders Award is Janet Waldron Kuhn. Waldron Kuhn is a 1985 graduate with a bachelor's degree in communication. She worked as a program director at WSRU-FM as an undergraduate and has help plan, organize, coordinate and host numerous HOF ceremonies.
Other inductees include:
-Lois Bowers: Having been a reporter, managing editor and editor-in-chief, Bowers has seemingly done it all in print journalism. She has won two dozen journalism awards in the past two years alone, bringing her total to more than 70.
-Greg McAtee: McAtee has been a staple in Pittsburgh radio since 1978, working at WDVE, WXDX, WPGB and WWSW. He currently does traffic reports for KDKA.
-George McDowell: Known as the "Voice of Slippery Rock University" for his handling of public address duties at SRU football games and Commencement, McDowell has worked at the University for more than 33 years.
-Mark Schaas: Schaas, a New Castle sports broadcasting legend, worked at WKST for more than 30 years, including covering all WPIAL and PIAA championship games as either a writer or broadcaster, from 1982-2017.
-Steve Simons: Currently working in one of the nation's biggest markets at Philadelphia's WWMR, Simons has established himself as a successful radio salesperson.
For more information about the SRU Media Hall of Fame, contact Jim Aronson, SRU Radio Alumni Committee chair, at 828.767.6016 or jamesd.aronson@gmail.com.
MEDIA CONTACT: Robb King | 724.738.2199 | robb.king@sru.edu