The fall 2023 semester was full of incredible accomplishments made by students and faculty, as well as some big administrative changes for the Reynolds School. After 12 years, Al Stavitsky officially stepped down as dean and will return in August as a professor. Join Dean Al as he recaps the semester one last time under his deanship.
Hello friends, Dean Al Stavitsky here, with the Reynolds School Semester in Review for Fall 2023. I’m here in front of the new green screen in our newsroom, which is undergoing a major renovation. There will be new equipment and studio sets for our new sports media program as well as spaces for election coverage and weathercasting. Thanks to everyone who has contributed to our fundraising campaign for the project.
The semester just past was full of achievement by our students and faculty. Let’s look back.
We started fall semester by welcoming a new cohort of 71 future journalists and media professionals to the Reynolds School during J-FIT. They participated in a new yoga and mindfulness workshop, with tools to help manage stress as they embarked on their freshman years.
Professor Patrick File was named Kappa Tau Alpha’s national Adviser of the Year. KTA is the collegiate honor society for journalism and mass communication students.
Our Journalism Student Council members made sure this semester’s RSJ Fest was a hit, inviting local employers and student clubs to engage with students and faculty.
The Hitchcock Project hosted renowned science communicator Paige Jarreau for a series of workshops on best practices for sharing scientific information through visual media.
KUNR celebrated 60 years on the air with a special guest, NPR’s Senior Political Editor Domenico Montanaro, who spoke with students about his career and about covering politics and elections.
Two stellar alumni were honored at Homecoming: Larry Ryckman of the Colorado Sun was named the 2023 Reynolds School Distinguished Alumnus and Alexa Ard of the Washington Post was named Outstanding Recent Alumna.
Prominent political journalist Jon Ralston, CEO and founder of the Nevada Independent, was named our 2023 Robert Laxalt Distinguished Writer.
The annual Reynolds School documentary film festival was a smash, screening six student-produced films at the Reno Little Theater, complete with a red carpet.
And we concluded the semester by launching the small-but-mighty graduating class of Fall 2023, which includes the next generation of media leaders and innovators.
As you have probably heard, I am stepping aside as dean after 12 years and returning to the RSJ faculty in 2024. The school will have a new leader and I’ll be cheering the new dean on. Thanks for your support through the years, and I’ll see you around the Reynolds School.
