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Reception Planned to Honor Ohio University Legend Dr. Joseph Berman
By: Erin Roberts
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All are welcome to attend a reception hosted by the Scripps College of Communication to celebrate Honors Tutorial Dean Emeritus Joseph Berman and to name the Berman Professor. The event takes place Friday, Oct. 14, at 2 p.m., at the Dairy Barn in Athens.
Berman, who retired in 2002 after more than 30 years of service at Ohio University, left such an impact on his students and colleagues that several donors have endowed a professorship in his name.
Berman served as founding director of the J. Warren McClure School of Communication Systems Management, as catalyst for the Honors Tutorial College telecommunications program in 1976 and as director of engineering, operations and production for the Telecommunications Center. In 2002, Berman retired as dean of the Honors Tutorial College. Under his leadership, the Honors Tutorial College established the Office of Nationally Competitive Awards and the Provost's Undergraduate Research Fund.
In 2005, Berman received the L.J. Hortin Faculty Mentor Award from the Scripps College of Communication. Larry Patrick, Ph.D. '75, presented the award by telling the story of his own undergraduate experience. "I didn't have a major…and (Berman) talked to me for three hours on a Friday afternoon about broadcasting. What professors teach outside of the classroom is just as important as what they teach inside the classroom.”
The Berman Professorship will support Group I (full-time, tenured-track) or Group IV (full-time, qualified visiting professionals) broadcast or media management faculty within the Scripps College of Communication. While Drew Berry, an Emmy Award-winning producer with more than 30 years of industry experience, held the professorship in spring quarter 2009, this Friday’s announcement will mark the first time the professorship has gone to a Group I faculty member for a three-year term.
“Named professorships are an important resource for helping faculty excel while they pursue their research and teaching activities,” said Scripps College of Communication Interim Dean Scott Titsworth. “We’re very excited to install this named professor in honor of Joe Berman, who has established an unquestioned legacy of innovation and commitment to students in the Scripps College of Communication and across the entire university.”
In a 2002 interview with Ohio Today, Berman said, “I have found this place to be unique. I felt it to be an exceptional place–one that has been supportive of everything that I have ever done–and willing to take risks.”