Reid Hall gets set for Alumni Weekend

Scott Ferrell ’87 to unveil photographs

This year’s Alumni Weekend activities in Reid Hall will feature the unveiling of a permanent exhibition of photographs by Scott Ferrell '87.

Ferrell is a staff photographer with Congressional Quarterly. The exhibit, "Assignment: Congress -- From Newt to  Nancy," features work Ferrell has done covering Capitol Hill. Ferrell will present a lecture about the exhibit at 4 p.m. Friday, May 4 in Reid 111. The lecture will be preceded by an open house from 2-4 on the second floor of Reid Hall, where the photographs will be exhibited.  A brief reception will follow the lecture.

The lecture and exhibit are both sponsored by Congressional Quarterly Inc. Ferrell will be on campus for his 20th reunion.

A chance to thank Smith

Reid Hall grads will have a chance to shake hands with retiring Professor of  Journalism Ham Smith as well on Alumni Weekend.

In addition to other weekend activities, Smith will attend an open house in Reid Hall from 2-4 p.m. on Friday, May 4.

Smith, who has been in phased retirement since 2003, will retire fully at the end of this academic year. He joined the department in 1974, and served as department head for some 14 years. Among his best-known former students are John-Thor Dahlburg '75, who covers Latin America for The Los Angeles Times; Mike Allen '86, former White House correspondent and now a contributing writer for Time magazine, and Mark Santora '97, who reports from Baghdad for The New York Times.

In his retirement, Smith will split time between Rockbridge County and South Florida. He and his wife, A.P., also plan to travel extensively.      

Lordy, lordy, WLUR's 40

Plans are afoot as well during Alumni Weekend for an observance of  the 40th anniversary of WLUR-FM.

The station, which was founded in 1967 in Reid Hall, was for many years a laboratory for journalism courses. Either through coursework or extracurricular activity, the station became a second home to hundreds of students over the years, including some of Reid Hall's most distinguished alumni.

Because it had become almost exclusively an extracurricular activity, the department ceded supervision of it to the dean of students when Reid Hall was renovated in 2001-02. It is now overseen by the university's Communications Office. Last fall it moved into new facilities in the Elrod Commons, where the public can now watch broadcasts through  a picture window.

Be sure to watch mailings from the Alumni Office for information about the station's 40th anniversary celebration on Alumni Weekend.