The past few months of classes at the School of Journailsm and Communication were enhanced by journalism and communications professionals who took the time to share their wealth of knowledge with students.

Janet Farrington Graham, ’78

After graduating from UO with a degree in journalism in 1978, Janet Farrington Graham went to work in advertising, but she returned to the School in early May as an author. Graham’s first book, Letters to Harry, published this spring by Time Life Books, was the subject of her discussion with graduate students in creative nonfiction as well as professors.

The book is a compilation of letters Graham began writing to a friend when she discovered her mother was dying. She continued writing in an effort to sort through her emotions and anguish and found herself with more than 40 letters at the time of her mother’s death from breast cancer.

Richard Rosen, UO ’76, MBA ’81

Advertising powerhouse Richard Rosen visited The School to offer ad students advice on their work and careers. Rosen, a principal at Rosen/Brown Direct in Portland, is the co-author of the book, How to Double, Triple or Quadruple Your Results with ROI Brand Advertising, due out this summer.

Rosen discussed his successful approach to advertising: giving clients just the right marketing mix, right down to the percentage of brand advertising desired and the percentage of response results required. Rosen/Brown’s clients include Digimarc, Lightscape, 1-800-Pre-Paid, Tektronix Inc., US West and AAA Washington.

Rob Siltanen, ’87

UO grad Rob Siltanen returned to the SOJC on May 12 as the guest speaker at the annual Ad Night celebration honoring advertising students with remarkable work. Siltanen works as the Creative Director and Managing Partner of TBWA/Chiat/Day in Los Angeles. He has worked on accounts with such companies as Nissan, Energizer, Infiniti and Reebok, and was involved with the Emmy Award-winning “Think Different” Apple campaign.

Alex Tizon, ’82

A special projects writer at The Seattle Times, Alex Tizon took time out from investigative reporting to visit with students in the School. Tizon and Seattle Times colleagues Eric Nalder and Deborah Nelson won the Pulitzer in Investigative Reporting in 1997 for their examination of widespread corruption and inequities in the federally sponsored housing program for Native Americans. His work on diversity issues has been widely recognized, and last year Tizon was the lead writer in a series that won the Penney-Missouri Multicultural Journalism Award.

Dan Wieden, ’67

SOJC grad Dan Wieden conducted his annual creativity workshop with students in early May. During the workshop, Wieden put students to work in an effort to impress upon them some of the qualities with which he has infused his own advertising, particularly the importance of integrity and passion. The president and creative director of Wieden & Kennedy returns often to work with students. This year, Wieden was honored as the University’s 1999 Pioneer Award recipient.