417 COLLEGE OF MASS COMMUNICATION ADDS 4 TO ‘WALL OF FAME’

‘Friend of the College,” 3 alumni honored at ceremony

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 5, 2006
EDITORIAL CONTACT: Gina E. Fann, 615-898-5385

(MURFREESBORO)— Three accomplished Middle Tennessee State University alumni and one “Friend of the College” have been added to the growing roster of the College of Mass Communication’s Wall of Fame.
Dean Anantha Babbili announced during an April 25 ceremony that alumni Reza J. Baktar of Washington, D.C., Glenn Middleworth of Nashville and Connie Cass O’Connell of Washington, D.C., would be honored with plaques and photos installed on the northwest interior wall of the Bragg Mass Communication Building on campus.
Also honored was Friend of the College Dr. Virginia D. Fielder, a native of Wayne County.
“These are people who believe in us, who trust us, who have faith that we’ll do well because they have done well,’’ Babbili said of the additions. “They are sincere in helping our students and spreading the word of MTSU’s College of Mass Communication.”
The Wall of Fame began in 2000 to honor successful mass communication graduates and inspire current students to work toward their goals. Each year, each of the college’s departments solicits nominees from faculty, chooses an honoree and submits the name to the dean. The Wall of Fame ceremony then becomes part of the college’s annual Awards Day.
The Wall of Fame now has 41 members. Details about the new honorees include:
• Baktar (B.S. ’95), an alumnus of the Department of Electronic Media Communication, began his television career at WTVF News-Channel5 in Nashville while still a student at MTSU. His career path so far has led him to CNN, Fox News, ABC News and back to CNN, where he now works as a senior director in the news organization’s Washington bureau. Baktar also is a member of the Directors Guild of America.
• Middleworth (B.S. ’80), one of the first graduates of the then-fledgling Department of Recording Industry, started his career in the RCA Records mailroom and moved into music publishing. After stints at the Opryland Music Group and EMI, he joined Famous Music Group and is now vice president of creative for its Nashville division.
• O’Connell (B.S. ’87), an alumna of the School of Journalism, began her career with the Associated Press part-time while still a student at MTSU. She joined the AP’s Nashville bureau full-time upon graduation and soon worked her way into the news service’s Indianapolis, Louisville and San Diego bureaus. Since 1993, O’Connell has worked in Washington, D.C., at the largest AP bureau in the world.
• Fielder, the 2006 “Friend of the College,” is a former vice president for research for Knight Ridder Inc. and a charter member of the college’s Board of Visitors. She recently established The Fielder Family Endowed Scholarship to recognize the work of her late father, mother and aunt— all MTSU alumni and early Tennessee educators—with a gift now valued at $120,000. The annual Fielder Family scholarship will be awarded beginning in the 2006-07 academic year to a Wayne County resident attending MTSU to study journalism, mass communication, elementary and/or special education, nursing, music or recording industry.
One of the largest programs in the nation, the MTSU College of Mass Communication offers degree concentrations in 14 major areas—ranging from journalism to digital media and media management to recording industry management—and is accredited by the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication.

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