Communication Department holds Hall of Fame/Honor Society induction ceremony

SUNY Buffalo State's Communication Department inducted ABC News senior coordinating producer Brian Hartman into its Hall of Fame at the department's Hall of Fame/Honor Society Induction ceremony on November 7.

Hartman was inducted into the Hall of Fame in recognition of his outstanding work at the national level in communication as a reporter, producer, and newsgathering leader at ABC News for nearly three decades, covering major breaking news and weather events for World News Tonight, Good Morning America, Nightline, 20/20 and the streaming channel ABC News Live. A former Hamburg and Buffalo resident, Hartman was a political science major at Buffalo State, where he also was a reporter for the student newspaper, The Record, a music DJ at WBNY-FM, president of United Students Government, student member of the Buffalo State College Council, and delegate to the New York State Student Assembly.

Brian Hartman

The Communication Department also inducted 25 students into the Rho Psi chapter of Lambda Pi Eta, the National Communication Association Honor Society. Inducted students include: Kiesha Adamczyk-Bennett, Thomas Bailey, Matthew Barton, Kellie Brewer, James Clark, Grace Cole, Shane Matthew Collins, Alyssa Doino, Kathryn Lis, Kaitlyn Dulski, Lorenzo Felix, Sara Fletcher, Aeva Jones, Chyann Kelly, Gwen Millar, Ayla Oakley, Sheridon Olsen, Kristin Rutkowski, Paige Marie Smith, Jason Szucs, Cesar Taveras, Katelyn Thiel, Mahendra D. Thomas, Samantha Tocke, and Tavis Watson, Jr.

To be eligible for membership in Lambda Pi Eta, students must have an overall grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 with at least 60 credits completed. They also must have a major GPA of 3.25 and must have completed at least 12 COM or SPC credits taken at Buffalo State.

In addition, the Communication Department also recognized Annemarie Franczyk, associate professor of communication, who is retiring in December. She has taught journalism and communication courses at Buffalo State since 1992 and serves as faculty adviser to the student newspaper, The Record.

"Our department is so incredibly proud of the professional achievements of Brian Hartman and the academic achievements of our Communication Honor Society students," said Deborah Silverman, Communication Department chair. "It was wonderful to watch Mr. Hartman interacting with the next generation of communication professionals at our event. And we are grateful to Professor Franczyk for her many years as an outstanding educator and mentor to our students."

Buffalo State's Communication Department, the first SUNY institution to be accredited by the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications, offers B.A. degrees in journalism, public relations and advertising, media production, and communication studies as well as an online master's degree in public relations.

Above: Matt Barton, Deborah Silverman, Grace Cole, Brian Hartman, Ellen Notarius.