The University of Oregon School of Journalism and Communication (SOJC) has announced its 2014 Hall of Achievement (HOA) inductees, Dana Wade and Brent Walth, and this year’s recipient of the Eric Allen Outstanding Young Alumnus Award, Andy Maser.

Established in 1998, the Hall of Achievement honors SOJC alumni and faculty members for their outstanding accomplishments and exceptional contributions to the field of journalism and the communities where they live and work. The young alumnus award was established in 2009 and is named for the school’s first dean, Eric Allen, who served from 1916 until 1944. The award recognizes alumni under 40 who have made a difference in their careers.

The additions to the HOA will be officially inducted at the 17th annual Hall of Achievement Dinner on Friday, Nov. 7, at the Ford Alumni Center on the University of Oregon campus. Maser will also be honored at this event.

“We are proud to honor these distinguished SOJC alumni for their outstanding achievements,” said Julie Newton, Edwin L. Artzt interim dean. “They inspire all of us to reach for greatness.”

Dana Wade, a 1983 alumna, is the chief client officer at Sparks and Honey, a cultural strategy and real-time content agency in New York City that was named one of the top 10 agencies to watch for 2014 by Advertising Age. In 2003, Wade won the Advertising Age Women to Watch award and was named an Outstanding Woman in Marketing and Communications by Ebony Magazine. She currently sits on the board of advisors on the Worldwide Workshop.

Brent Walth, a 1984 alumnus, is the managing editor for news at Willamette Week, a Pultizer Prize-winning weekly based in Portland. While working at The Oregonian in 2001, Walth shared the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service for a detailed examination of problems within the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service, including harsh treatment of foreign nationals and other widespread abuses. In 1994, Walth authored the highly acclaimed biography, “Fire at Eden’s Gate: Tom McCall and the Oregon Story,” about Oregon’s environmental governor.

Andy Maser, a 2007 alumnus from Portland, shared in two Northwest Regional Emmy Awards for two environmental documentary films that aired on the Oregon Field Guide program in 2013. One of those documentaries also received an Edward R. Murrow Award. Maser is a National Geographic Explorer and has worked for National Geographic and PBS as director of photography for numerous projects.

Advance ticket purchase is required for the awards dinner – $130 per person or $1,000 for a sponsor table. A portion of each ticket supports the Hall of Achievement Student Scholarship Fund. Deadline to RSVP is Oct. 31.

About the University of Oregon
The University of Oregon is among the 108 institutions chosen from 4,633 U.S. universities for top-tier designation of "Very High Research Activity" in the 2010 Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. The UO is also one of two Pacific Northwest members of the Association of American Universities.

MEDIA CONTACT: SOJC Communications Office, 541-346-2142, kthier@uoregon.edu

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