A note from Dean Tom Reichert
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Dear Alumni,
We just wrapped up a fantastic year and we couldn’t be more pleased with the accomplishments of our students, faculty and staff. Our graduating seniors are among the finest, most well-prepared and resilient graduating classes in our history.
I hope you’ll agree that we are fulfilling our pledge to offer an unparalleled student experience. The unique combination of tools, technology, instruction and experiences we offer through the college represents our best effort. We’re not perfect, but we’re committed to getting better every year. Here are a few key metrics:
Graduation rate and retention
- Currently our college ranks best at the University of South Carolina with an 81% four-year graduation rate. Also, our first-year retention rate — the percentage of students who come back for their second year — is also best at 92%.
Senior survey results
Our graduating seniors believe our instruction is strong overall and that they are prepared to enter the workforce. Results from our survey include:
- 94% say courses in the major are challenging and rigorous.
- 99% say faculty are familiar with industry trends / knowledgeable about subject areas.
- 99% feel prepared for an entry-level industry job.
There is much more — so keep reading this edition of CIC Alum Connect. And, again, thank you for all you do to support the college and our students.
Forever to thee!
Dean Reichert
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Thanks to our generous donors, the CIC raised $32,628 from 220 donors for our CIC Study Abroad programs!
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NYC Alumni, this is a can't miss event! The CIC and the USC Alumni Association are joining forces for the President's Reception Wednesday, May 24 at The Mason Jar starting at 5:30 p.m. Come meet President Amiridis, along with Dean Reichert and the team at this fun night out! Register ASAP as space is limited.
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Atsuro Riley
1983, advertising
Atsuro Riley is a Guggenheim Foundation Fellow and winner of the Award in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters and also the winner in the poetry category.
He is the author of Heard-Hoard (University of Chicago Press, 2021), winner of the Alice Fay di Castagnola Award from the Poetry Society of America, a finalist for PEN America’s Voelcker Poetry Award, a Boston Globe Best Book of the Year and a Bookworm Top 10 Book of the Year.
His 2010 book Romey’s Order received the Whiting Award, the Kate Tufts Discovery Award, The Believer Poetry Award and the Witter Bynner Award from the Library of Congress.
Riley’s other honors include Lannan Foundation and NEA Fellowships, the Pushcart Prize and the Wood Prize given by POETRY magazine.
His poems have been anthologized in The Mind Has Cliffs of Fall, The Open Door: 100 Poems, 100 Years of POETRY Magazine, The Oxford Anthology of Contemporary American Poetry, Poems of the American South, The McSweeney’s Book of Poets Picking Poets, Poems from Far and Wide, Vinegar and Char, Gracious, and Home: 100 Poems.
Brought up in the South Carolina lowcountry, Atsuro Riley lives in San Francisco.
He is the editor of Revel, a literary journal.
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Rosalyn Durant
1999, broadcast journalism
Durant returned to ESPN in March 2023 as executive vice president of programming and acquisitions and is leading programming, media rights deals, ESPN+, ESPN International, Andscape and espnW. Durant spent the past three years in Orlando as senior vice president of Disney Springs, Water Parks and ESPN Wide World of Sports.
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Caitlin Ashbaugh
2023, broadcast journalism
Ashbaugh accepted a multi-media journalist role with WCSC-TV Live 5 News in Charleston, S.C.
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Chloe Barlow
2023, broadcast journalism
Pursuing her master's degree in journalism, with a concentration in documentary filmmaking at Columbia University in NYC.
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Eva Pilgrim
2004, broadcast journalism
Pilgrim will join "GMA3: What You Need to Know" as co-anchor of the program. Pilgrim joined ABC News in 2015 as a correspondent based in New York and has also served as co-anchor of “Good Morning America” Saturday and Sunday since 2018. While at ABC News, Eva has covered breaking news stories, including the recent mass shooting in Nashville, the Alex Murdaugh trial, the Charlottesville rally, the 2020 presidential election, the murder of George Floyd, and Hurricanes Matthew, Harvey, Irma, Maria and Michael. Prior to ABC News, Eva got her start in local news making stops in Bluefield, West Virginia; Columbia, South Carolina; Charlotte, North Carolina; Indianapolis, Indiana; and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Get to know Eva Pilgrim >>
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Joy Callaway
2008 master's, mass communications
In 2022, Callaway published The Grand Design, a fictional account of how famed interior designer Dorothy Draper revamped The Greenbrier after its World War II service as an Army hospital. Her newest novel, All the Pretty Places, will be released May 9. Read more >>
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Rachel Beanland
2003, public relations
Rachel Beanland is the author of the novel, The House is on Fire, published by Simon & Schuster. Her debut novel, Florence Adler Swims Forever, was selected as a book club pick by Barnes & Noble, a featured debut by Amazon, an Indie next pick by the American Booksellers Association and one of the best books of 2020 by USA Today. It was also named a New York Times Editors’ Choice and was recognized with the 2020 National Jewish Book Award for Debut Fiction (Greenberg Prize).
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Amber Guyton
2008, advertising
Interior designer, home & lifestyle content creator and influencer with Blessed Little Bungalow, Atlanta, G.A. Guyton's home design recently adorned the covers of HGTV Magazine and Designers Today.
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Simon Tarr
2017, Doctor of Philosophy, library and information science
Tarr is serving as the director of the School of Communications and the Arts while continuing his role as the dean of the Honors College at Regent University in Virginia Beach, Va.
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Grace Bennett
2015, advertising
Bennett received the 2022 Fundraising Professional of the Year award at the local Change Awards. She takes the next step in her career as Associate Director of Individual Engagement and Gifts at the United Way of Greater Knoxville. Bennett is also advancing the profession by serving on the board of the Association of Fundraising Professionals and all young professionals by serving as 2023 president of Young Professionals of Knoxville.
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Denise Lyons
2004, MLIS
Appointed commissioner of the Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives (KDLA). The mission of KDLA is to provide equitable access to quality library and information resources and services, as well as help public agencies ensure that legislatively mandated documentation of government programs are created, efficiently maintained and made accessible. Read more >>
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Lydia Blackstone
2023, broadcast journalism
Accepted a reporter/multi-media journalist role with Hearst Television channel WJCL 22 in Savannah, G.A.
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Denetra Walker
2022, Ph.D., mass communication
Assistant Professor, Journalism at the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Georgia.
Walker won the Outstanding Dissertation award from the Ethnicity and Race in Communication division for the International Communication Association (ICA). The award identifies and recognizes scholars who are developing strong research in the field of ethnicity and race in communication.
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Jenni Williams
2013, broadcast journalism
Senior news producer at WYFF 4 in Greenville, S.C.
Williams lives out her childhood dream of becoming a reporter.
Read more >>
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Amanda Wilson Farwick
1998, public relations
Farwick is a licensed realtor with NextHome Specialists in Lexington, S.C.
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Nancy Shore
2017, MLIS
STEM Librarian studying in the EdD program at the University of North George this fall
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Alex Luchsinger (2017, Ph.D., mass communications) and Mary O'Boyle (2017, Ph.D., mass communications) examine TV coverage of military personnel and veterans. Read more >>
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Jovaughn Gwyn
2022, information science
South Carolina offensive lineman picked in the seventh round of the NFL Draft. The Atlanta Falcons took Gwyn with their final pick of the three-day draft. Read more >>
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Jason Broughton
2014, MLIS
Current director of the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. elected to the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions Governing Board serving as a member of Libraries Serving Persons with Print Disabilities Section Standing Committee IFLA section. Broughton will represent the Library of Congress and the United States at the IFLA World Library and Information Congress in The Netherlands in August 2023.
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Stephanie Moore Towers
2002, broadcast journalism
Digital Media Manager at WYFF in Greenville, S.C. is celebrating her 20th work anniversary at the station.
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M. McCabe Rentz
2020, MLIS
Named Employee of the Quarter for the South Carolina State Library
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Paula Novacki
2014, public relations
Novacki is the owner and founder of PN Media, a performance-based media agency specializing in paid search, paid social and digital campaign analytics. She (and her team) works with enterprise-level brands, start-ups, non-profits and marketing agencies to create goals-oriented digital advertising campaigns. She was recently featured in an article by The Dimple Life.
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*Have an alumni update to share? Complete our alumni update form >>
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Today’s employers are looking for communications experts – specifically, those that can leverage data to give them a competitive edge.
USC’s Data and Communication program is training the next generation of leaders. By combining the art of communications and the science of data analysis, our graduates are equipped with the expertise to lead the next evolution of digital storytelling.
With this program on your resume, you’ll be equipped to apply for in-demand careers like:
- Brand Manager
- SEO Manager
- Public Relations Director
- Campaign Manager
- Head of Corporate Communications
- Creative Director
- Digital Strategist
- Director of Digital Marketing
- Director of Communications and Digital Strategy
- Digital Marketing Manager
- Digital Product Manager
- Marketing Communications Manager
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