Top Trending Stories Unveiled by Park University for the Year 2020
In a year marked by unprecedented challenges, Park University demonstrated its commitment to the arts, media innovation, and community engagement. Here are some of the top moments that stood out in 2020.
1. **Pittsburgh Playhouse’s 2020-21 Season Announcement**: Kicking off the year with a bang, the Playhouse unveiled a new season filled with love, human resilience, and community spirit. Highlights included Pulitzer- and Tony Award-winning *Angels in America Part One: Millennium Approaches*, eclectic dance productions featuring the Paul Taylor Dance Company, and a Media Innovators Speaker Series starting with Al Franken.
2. **Pittsburgh Playhouse Launches Online Art Sharing Portal**: In response to the pandemic, the Playhouse launched #PghPlayhouseArtShare, an online portal showcasing artistic creations by students, alumni, and professionals across multiple media such as poetry, music, dance, and photography.
3. **Pittsburgh Playhouse Play Reading Series**: A new play reading series was introduced in the Rauh Theatre featuring readings of original plays and musicals by local, regional, and national playwrights, with involvement from Conservatory performing arts students.
4. **Center for Media Innovation Fellowship**: The fellowship returned with expanded prizes, supported by a three-year grant from the Allegheny Foundation, aiming to make a bigger impact in investigative journalism.
5. **Visit by Investigative Reporter Erica Hensley**: Erica Hensley, recipient of the inaugural Doris O'Donnell Innovations in Investigative Journalism Fellowship, visited Point Park in January 2020, working on her project and engaging with environmental studies and journalism classes.
6. **National High School Dance Festival**: The university hosted a three-day festival that included dance classes, auditions, and performances, drawing young artists from across the U.S. and internationally, showcasing the university’s state-of-the-art facilities.
7. **Noted Dance Historian Brenda Dixon Gottschild Campus Visit**: In January 2020, Brenda Dixon Gottschild visited Point Park to discuss her book and the significant impact of Black dancers on the profession.
8. **SAEM Program Outreach**: The School of Arts, Entertainment, and Media (SAEM) program engaged high school students in exploring theatre arts management careers to build future talent for the industry.
9. **Student and Alumni Media Achievements**: Samiar Nefzi, a 2019 graduate, gained recognition as a reporter and fill-in anchor at a Pennsylvania TV station, spotlighting the university’s media program success.
10. **Adapting to COVID-19**: Initiatives like the online art portal and maintaining fellowship programs suggest the university actively adapted to the pandemic's challenges to continue educational and artistic activities in 2020.
These highlights reflect Point Park University’s strong focus in performing arts, media innovation, and community engagement during 2020, despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Elsewhere at Park University, Erycka Fisher, '09, won a $10,000 prize on the FOX program "Ultimate Tag" on May 27, having been a two-time track and field All-American for Park University. The women's golf team of Park University's Parkville Campus had a cumulative GPA of 3.67.
In June 2020, Park University launched a flat rate tuition initiative to support students considering taking a year off due to health anxieties related to the coronavirus. The university also held its first-ever virtual commencement ceremony on Dec. 12, 2020, with Anthony Melchiorri, a 1990 Park graduate, U.S. military veteran, and host of Travel Channel's "Hotel Impossible" series, as the keynote speaker.
Park University's employees compiled the University's biggest stories of the year, with 19 of the 21 events/stories named on at least one ballot in the staff's vote. Notably, only one event was named on all five ballots.
In 2019, Park University received national and international honours, with Park University and President Greg Gunderson, Ph.D., the focus of a column in the Washington Post on May 16. Additionally, Kay Barnes and Bob Kendrick were ranked No. 26 and No. 35, respectively, on a list of the most influential people in Kansas City sports history.
Steve Youngblood, associate professor of communication arts and director of the Center for Global Peace Journalism at Park University, was awarded the 2020 Luxembourg Peace Prize for Outstanding Peace Journalism. Kenny Broberg, a graduate student in the International Center for Music, was awarded a cash prize of $50,000 from the American Pianists Association.
These achievements underscore Park University's ongoing dedication to excellence in various fields, even in the face of adversity.
1.Despite the global pandemic, Point Park University continued its dedication to education and self-development, launching the #PghPlayhouseArtShare portal and initiating a virtual play reading series in the Rauh Theatre as part of its commitment to the arts and community engagement.
- In general news, Park University garnered attention for its commitment to media innovation, with the Center for Media Innovation Fellowship returning with expanded prizes and Erica Hensley, recipient of the Doris O'Donnell Innovations in Investigative Journalism Fellowship, visiting Point Park to engage with students and faculty.
