College of Media offers new online degree completion program: BA in Media

August 20, 2025 | Holly Rushakoff To expand access to a University of Illinois education, the College of Media now offers an online Bachelor of Arts in Media program for adult learners who have taken some college coursework but have not completed their undergraduate degree. Targeting working adults who want to upskill or re-skill their […]

College of Media welcomes Fall 2025 with faculty promotions and leadership appointments

August 19, 2025 This fall, the College of Media announces two new department heads, seven faculty promotions, and one new faculty member. In the Charles H. Sandage Department of Advertising, Sang-Hwa Oh has been promoted to associate professor with indefinite tenure. Carrie Wilson-Brown has been promoted to senior lecturer. Penne Heede joins the department as […]

Gregory Hall lower-level renovation photos

July 31, 2025 Thanks to a $2.5M gift from Richard and Leslie Frank in 2024—who endowed the Richard and Leslie Frank Center for Leadership and Innovation in Media in 2020 and enabled the renovation of Richmond Studio—exciting upgrades in the lower level of Gregory Hall began in Spring 2025.  This will result in the creation of […]

Alum Murray Kalis wins 2025 College of Media Distinguished Alumni Award 

May 21, 2025 | Kelly Youngblood For his outstanding career accomplishments and generous monetary support of advertising students, Murray Kalis (BS ’61) was recognized by the College of Media with the 2025 Distinguished Alumni Award.  Kalis, whose work has taken him across the world and back, heading his own agency, and serving as chair of […]

Journalism alum Stephanie Lulay wins 2025 College of Media Emerging Leader Award

May 21, 2025 | Kelly Youngblood Stephanie Lulay’s (BS ’08, journalism) start-up venture, Block Club Chicago—whose mission is to deliver reliable, nonpartisan, and essential coverage of Chicago’s diverse neighborhoods—has become a news staple for readers throughout the city since its founding in 2018. Lulay serves as executive editor and co-founder of the award-winning newsroom, which […]

Media studies scholar Denise Bielby inspired to support Ebert Center through blended gift

April 11, 2025 | Kelly Youngblood It’s no surprise that renowned media studies scholar and two-time University of Illinois alum Denise Bielby (BS ’71, MA ’72, ACES), Distinguished Professor of Sociology, Emerita, at the University of California, Santa Barbara, was interested in fellow alum Roger Ebert’s work and helping preserve his legacy. Bielby, whose research […]

College of Media spaces for faculty, staff in Gregory Hall undergo renovations

November 7, 2024 | Kelly Youngblood College of Media faculty, staff, and students can see notable changes at Gregory Hall after several major remodeling projects that began in May 2024 have been completed or are scheduled to wrap up this fall semester. Thanks to a sizeable investment from campus, the college has been able to […]

Historic gift from Richard and Leslie Frank totals $10.5M for College of Media

September 17, 2024 With their latest $2.5 million donation, Richard and Leslie Frank increased their historic gift to the College of Media to upgrade classrooms on the lower level of Gregory Hall. The new funding will enable a substantial renovation of the lower level of Gregory Hall, with the creation of a new hybrid, flexible, […]

Sarah Min selected for 2024 College of Media Distinguished Alumni Award

May 14, 2024 | Kelly Youngblood When Sarah Min (BS ’93, journalism) was appointed to President Joe Biden’s Advisory Commission on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders in 2022, she knew her background in journalism would prove useful in government policy and nonprofit advocacy work.  “For people who practice journalism, it’s a job requirement to […]

Eli Murray selected as winner of 2024 College of Media Emerging Leader Award

May 14, 2024 | Kelly Youngblood A multimedia piece about an avalanche in Washington published by the New York Times in 2012, which included video, interactive graphics, and animated simulations, changed the way newsrooms presented storytelling.  It also inspired Media alum and Pulitzer-Prize winning reporter Eli Murray (BS ’15, journalism) to think about a career as a […]

College of Media
119 Gregory Hall
810 S. Wright St.
Urbana, IL 61801
217-333-2350