Fischer's career includes 17 years as an instructor at three different universities. BYU alumnus, Kenneth A. Fischer, was awarded the prestigious Edward L. Bliss Award for Distinguished Broadcast Journalism Education, the second BYU alumnus to receive the award. Fischer attended BYU in 1982 while obtaining a masters degree in Communications. While at BYU, Fischer worked directly with Thomas A. Griffiths, an emeritus member of the Communications faculty, who also received the Ed Bliss award in 2004. “This is a humbling honor to be included on a list with Walter Cronkite’s writer/producer Ed Bliss and my own BYU mentor Professor Griffiths,” Fischer said. Dale Cressman, associate professor in the BYU School of Communications, said it is quite the achievement to win the award, let alone to follow in the footsteps of a professor who has also won the award. Cressman solicited letters of support and wrote the nomination cover letters for both Fischer and Griffiths. Cressman said the “Ed Bliss” award is the most prestigious award for a broadcast journalism professor to receive. According to Cressman’s experience, winners usually have to be re-nominated over a period of several years until they are chosen. “It is very unusual—and possibly unprecedented—for a teacher and his student to both win this award. And it is noteworthy for two award winners to come out of BYU,” Cressman said. The award comes from the Electronic News Division of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, also known as AEJMC. The award is given to broadcast journalism educators who have made “significant and lasting contributions to the field,” according to the Electronic News Division’s website. Fischer’s nominating team made a case for him to receive the AEJMC educator award based on his teaching and service work. “I wish to suggest that Ken Fischer is the consummate unsung hero in the academy. He is selfless, generous, and dedicated, yet he does not draw attention to himself, nor is he quick to claim credit,” Cressman stated in his nomination letter for Fischer. “This is a professor completely without pretense, yet driven to serve his students, his colleagues, and his academic committee.” Fischer was first introduced to BYU by Lee Scanlon, a professor Fischer worked with as an undergraduate student at California State University, Fullerton. Scanlon, who received his PhD from BYU, drove Fischer to Utah in 1978 to visit with Griffiths who was the News Director for KBYU at the time. During the trip, Fischer decided to apply for the BYU communications graduate program. “That visit to BYU and my decision to attend changed the course of my life to this day,” Fischer said. “I have utilized what I learned at BYU in both my professional and academic newsrooms and studio work.” Teaching broadcast journalism helps keep Fischer “alive and fresh” in an industry that provides something new everyday. Fischer is currently a member of the Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication faculty at the University of Oklahoma. He is also working towards obtaining a PhD in Communication. “Dr. Griffiths and my BYU friends have been encouraging throughout the process. They remind me that learning never ends,” Fischer said. “But as far as the award is concerned, I may not be a member of the flock, but like the sign at the ‘Y’ says, ‘the world is our campus, go forth and serve.’” Fischer will be presented with a recognition plaque at a special ceremony on August 10 as part of the AEJMC’s Chicago Conference at NBC’s WMAQ television station. Fischer’s name will also be added to the permanent plaque housed at American University in Washington, D.C.

BYU researchers asked people why they Facebook, then identified four categories of users.

Season posters for the 2016-17 BYU Theatre and Media Arts productions have received several top awards at three prestigious competitions. BYU ARTS Creative is no stranger to winning awards. This year their work has garnered several top awards in regional and national competitions. BYU ARTS Creative won the Copper Ingot Award for the third year in a row at the AIGA Salt Lake City 100 Show and received a Grand Gold Award at the national CASE Circle of Excellence Awards. The Salt Lake City chapter of the American Institute of Graphic Arts, hosts the AIGA SLC 100 Show each year. The show is known as Salt Lake City’s “most prestigious juried competition,” with 100 entries selected and judged by nationally recognized judges on “craft, concept, and aesthetic achievement.” BYU ARTS Creative won its third Copper Ingot Award for the BYU Theatre and Media Arts Season Posters. The Copper Ingot Award is presented to the top 10 pieces of the show. BYU also received Merit Awards for the BYU School of Music’s American Piano Quartet Poster, the University Chorale Poster and the BYU Arts 2016-17 Season Brochure. The show put the design team against difficult competition “It’s important to take into consideration that we are going up against design and marketing studios in the region with full-time designers, and we do it with part-time student graphic designers,” said BYU ARTS Creative Art Director, Nick Mendoza. On the national level, the BYU Theatre and Media Arts Season Posters received a Grand Gold Award at the Council for Advancement and Support of Education Circle of Excellence Awards (CASE). After receiving Gold and Grand Gold Awards at the district level, the posters went on to receive 1 of 16 Grand Gold Awards given at the national level. CASE Judges for the BYU season posters noted that the posters had “excellent minimalistic interpretations of season shows” as well as “strong typographical treatment.” Additionally, judges said the poster’s “consistent color palette added immense impact to the overall look and feel.” Sue Cunningham, president and CEO of CASE, said in a news release that the 2017 CASE competition was the most competitive year ever with over 3,364 entries and only 366 awards given. But the awards don’t stop there. The season posters will also be included in the September/October issue of Communications Arts magazine. Mendoza entered BYU ARTS Creative pieces into the Communications Arts 2017 design competition, the “most prestigious competition for creativity in graphic design.” Winners receive “important exposure” in print and digital editions of their magazine and on commarts.com. “It is a great honor to be recognized in these competitions. It validates all the hard work and thought that goes into all the things we produce here at BYU ARTS Creative,” Mendoza said. “It is great that the students get recognition for their work and I hope that our clients can see them as designers and not merely as student workers.” Student collaborators who helped to produce the designs: Andrew Galloway (BFA Graphic Design 2016) BYU Theatre and Media Arts Season Posters Keegan Black (BFA Graphic Design 2017) American Piano Quartet Poster Stephanie McAllister (BFA Graphic Design 2017) University Chorale Poster

Nokbak is the third BYU-created video game in five years to be nominated as a finalist in E3’s College Game Competition.

A team of BYU students took the top prize in the country’s most competitive student advertising competition — for a project they did not for a class or client, but for fun. It was summer and they had a little extra time, so the crew set out to create “something big and cool and different,” said senior Taylor Dahl. Their finished product — a whimsically illustrated and filmed Vespa commercial — took national best of show at Saturday’s Student American Advertising Awards Competition (commonly referred to as the ADDYs). Awards committee chair George Riddell called the competition a “showcase of bright new talent” that provides “a glimpse at the advertising industry of tomorrow.” The best of show award, one of eight national ADDYs BYU received, is a high point in a season of high points for BYU’s ad program. Click here to read more...

A team of BYU students took the top prize in the country’s most competitive student advertising competition — for a project they did not for a class or client, but for fun.

Diane Reich, Associate Professor of Vocal Performance and Division Coordinator for Classical Voice in the BYU School of Music, will deliver the Devotional address on June 6, 2017. With doctoral and master’s degrees from Indiana University, Reich has had an impressive career, winning numerous accolades and performing both across the nation and overseas. Reich was hired at BYU in 2007, where—in addition to her position as Division Coordinator—she teaches Vocal and Opera Literature. Read more…

Associate Dance Department Chair Curt Holman has been selected as the new BYU Department of Dance Chair, effective June 1, 2017. In his almost 25 years as a dance faculty member at BYU, Holman has served on numerous department, college and university committees, including Ballroom Area administrator, associate Dance Department chair and Ballroom Dance Company artistic director. Holman and his wife Sharon are former professional ballroom dance competitors, U.S. National Cabaret finalists and invited competitors at the British Championships in Blackpool, England and the World Championships in the Netherlands. “Holman has developed a deep understanding of the touring and performance aspects, as well as the curricular and education issues of the department,” CFAC Dean Ed Adams said. “He has been an integral part of the prestigious awards garnered by the Ballroom Dance Company, both nationally and internationally.” Holman replaces Marilyn Berrett who has served in this position since Dec. 2010. Berrett’s choreography has been featured in main stage productions and award winning films across the US and in Africa, Asia, Europe and South America. She serves on the BYU ARTS Partnership coordinating council, the dance and the Child international board of directors and is a past-president of the Utah Dance Education Organization. “Berrett’s commitment as chair has been extraordinary and she has endeavored to ensure that students, faculty, and staff in the department achieve the fullest measure of their abilities,” Adams said. The Department of Dance provides a broad base for professional training in both the classroom and the studio. The versatile undergraduate program includes four degrees: Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Dance, Bachelor of Arts (BA) in K-12 Dance Education, Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in Dance and Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in Music Dance Theatre. The Department of Dance is an accredited institutional member of the National Association of Schools of Dance. “My greatest joy has been witnessing the personal and collective successes of faculty and students,” Berrett said. “I stand in awe as BYU Dance faculty and students collaborate and create together and so pleased when they win academic, teaching and performance acclaim at conferences, festivals, and competitions. I am grateful for the support of the university, college, our donors, alumni, and colleagues.” Writer: Bailey Fruit

“Advertising is creative problem solving,” said Sheets, acknowledging that advertising also has the power to persuade for both positive and negative.

Divine providence brought Ernst Zimmermann’s Christ in the Temple to the BYU Museum of Art’s (MOA) permanent collection, says director Mark A. Magleby (BA ’89). After being considered lost for most of its existence, the painting emerged on the market just as the MOA prepared a new exhibit contemplating the Savior. Now, thanks to a generous donor, the MOA’s newest religious acquisition is a focal point of not only the exhibit To Magnify the Lord: Six Centuries of Art and Devotion, on display until 2019, but of the museum’s entire collection.

The BYU Department of Design and the Department of Art have each renewed their department chairs for another term. Gary Barton continues on as the Department of Art chair as well as Eric Gillett as the Department of Design chair. Curt Holman, recently selected as the new Department of Dance chair, replaces Marilyn Berrett, effective June 1, 2017. Gillett, was appointed as chair of Department of Design in 2015 when the Department of Visual Arts split to become the Department of Art and the Department of Design. He graduated from BYU in 1991 with a bachelor’s degree in graphic design and completed an MFA in design from the University of Utah. Gillett is a professor of graphic design. Gillett’s work is regularly featured in national and international design publications including Communication Arts, Print, How, Eye, Creative Quarterly, Graphis, NY Art Director’s Club and The One Show. His commissioned work as a designer, art director and creative director has included commissions for many Fortune 500 companies. His research focus relates to design systems, branding and typography. Barton became the chair of the BYU Art Department in 2015 following the division of the Department of Visual Arts. Barton graduated from BYU in 1989 with a bachelor’s in printmaking and received his master’s degree from Ohio State University. Barton works primarily in two-dimensional media including painting, printmaking and mixed media. While at BYU, Barton has served as the 2-D studio area coordinator, associate chair of the Department of Visual Arts and has been the director or associate director of several study abroad programs. He has also served on the Gordon B. Hinckley Presidential Scholarship Committee, the London Center Study Abroad Committee and the University Rank and Status Council. Holman graduated from BYU in 1989 with a bachelor’s degree in communications and again in 1996 with a master’s degree in dance. Holman and his wife are former professional ballroom dance competitors, U.S. National Cabaret finalists and invited competitors at the British Championships in Blackpool, England and the World Championships in the Netherlands. In his 25 years at BYU Holman has served on numerous department, college and university committees, including Ballroom Area administrator, associate department chair and Ballroom Dance Company artistic director. Writer: Bailey Fruit

Commencement Apr. 27 at 4 p.m. in the Marriott Center Convocation for the Department of Dance, Department of Music, Music Dance Theatre and Department of Theatre and Music Arts Apr. 28 at 8 a.m. in the deJong Concert Hall Convocation for the School of Communications Apr. 28 at 11 a.m. in the deJong Concert Hall Convocation for the Department of Art & Department of Design Apr. 28 at 2 p.m. in the deJong Concert Hall Elder Bradley D. Foster, General Authority Seventy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is scheduled to be the presiding authority and speaker during the Commencement Exercises on Thursday, Apr. 27, at 4 p.m., in the Marriott Center. Commencement exercises will be broadcast live on BYU TV, BYU Radio, Classical 89 KBYU-FM and byutv.org. Each college holds a convocation the day after commencement. Each graduate is recognized by name and walks across the stage to receive their diploma cover. The college dean presides at convocation, and the ceremony lasts approximately two hours. Students who graduate in December are invited to attend the next April graduation ceremonies and those who graduate in June are invited to attend the August graduation ceremonies. All College of Fine Arts and Communications convocations will take place in the deJong Concert Hall of the Harris Fine Arts Center (HFAC) on Friday, Apr. 28. Graduates are required to meet 45 minutes prior to their scheduled convocation in the HFAC tunnel, located on the 2nd floor in the north end of the of the building. CFAC convocations usually last about a hour. Each convocation will present student speakers from the respective school or department. Kelli Briggs will be the Department of Dance student speaker and Malori Bigler will represent the Department of Theatre and Music Arts. The School of Communications convocation will present Kayci Kirkham Treu and Catharine Delong as student speakers. Emily Holt and Jane Christensen will speak on behalf of the Department of Art and Jordan Layton and Ashley Smith will speak as Department of Design students. Click here to the view the graduation live stream.