Troy University Hall School of Journalism and Communication

Degrees offered

The Hall School of Journalism and Communication (HSJC), part of the College of Communication and Fine Arts, offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in journalism, broadcast journalism, multimedia journalism, advertising, public relations, and communication.

Programs and emphasis

Students produce three live television news broadcasts daily and work in student media including TrojanVision and Troy Public Radio. The Radio-Television Digital News Association has ranked Troy University's journalism program 6th best in the country. Coursework uses Adobe Creative Suite, EDIUS video editing software, and industry-standard broadcast equipment.

History

Troy State University's Department of English began offering journalism as a minor in 1970. On December 16, 1971, the Hall School of Journalism was created in a partnership between TSU President Ralph Adams and Governor George Wallace, with distinguished author and editor John R. Chamberlain as founding dean. The school is named in part for Grover C. Hall, who won a Pulitzer Prize in 1928 for reporting on the Ku Klux Klan. Subsequent leaders included Judy Wagon (acting dean, 1975), Jim Hall (dean, 1977), Merrill Bankester (1981), and Steve Padgett, who became director in 1998 after the school joined a college. Jeff Spurlock served as director from 2014 until his departure in August 2021; Robbyn Brooks Taylor became director in June 2022.

Key faculty and leadership

Robbyn Brooks Taylor: Director, Hall School of Journalism and Communication.
Larry Blocher: Dean, College of Communication and Fine Arts.

Student-run media

The Tropolitan (student newspaper) and The Palladium (yearbook).

Location and contact info

Website
https://www.troy.edu/academics/colleges-schools/college-communication-fine-arts/departments/hall-school-journalism-communication/