MTSU’s College of Mass Communication celebrated students past and present with its recent Wall of Fame alumni induction ceremony and presentation of student scholarships and awards for the soon-to-end academic year.

Journalism alumna Angie Boyd Chambers, electronic media communication grad Margaret Comeaux and recording industry alumnus Michael Knox joined 75 fellow mass communication leaders on the college’s Wall of Fame, while more than 100 current students were recognized for their scholastic accomplishments.

“There’s a special joy in knowing your son or daughter is successful doing exactly what they want to do,” mass comm dean Ken Paulson told the crowd, which included dozens of parents along with faculty, staff, students and alumni, in MTSU’s Student Union Ballroom.

The program for the celebration, which includes a complete list of all student honorees as well as full bios of the Wall of Fame inductees, is available at http://ow.ly/vpiW6.

The Wall of Fame honor began in 2000 as a way to both honor successful mass-communication graduates and inspire current students to continue working toward their goals.

Each year, each of the college’s departments solicits nominees from faculty, chooses an honoree and submits his or her name to the dean. The Wall of Fame ceremony then becomes a part of the college’s annual Awards Day for students.

Angie Boyd-Chambers

Margaret Comeaux

Michael Knox

Boyd-Chambers recently was promoted to managing director of communications for Saint Thomas Health in Nashville, which employs more than 6,500 associates in nine hospitals.

The 2001 MTSU graduate previously served as the public relations director for Saint Thomas Rutherford Hospital and was responsible for marketing and communications for the 286-bed Murfreesboro facility.

Comeaux, who is senior director of music and events production for CMT, oversees the creation, development and production of music and live-event specials for the network.

The 1995 MTSU grad serves as executive producer in charge of the annual “CMT Music Awards,” the critically acclaimed “CMT Crossroads” series and “CMT Artists of the Year.”

Music producer Knox has worked with some of the biggest names in country music but is perhaps best known for his production work with country superstar Jason Aldean.

Along with forming a production management company, Music Knox, with three of his clients, Knox, a 2001 MTSU graduate, also serves as senior creative director for peermusic Group in Nashville.

During the afternoon celebration, MTSU’s School of Journalism also honored newcomer Dr. Joonghwa Lee with its top teaching award after barely two years at the university.

Dr. Joonghwa Lee, center, a second-year advertising professor in MTSU’s School of Journalism, accepts the Ed Kimbrell Excellence in Teaching Award from the former dean for which it was named, right, and journalism director Dr. Dwight E. Brooks, left. (MTSU photo by Andy Heidt)

“This man, as they say in baseball, is a natural,” said Dr. Ed Kimbrell, the longtime professor and former dean for whom the award was named. “He cares about students. He listens to them. He wants them to be engaged. And they are.”

Lee, who came to MTSU in 2012 after earning his doctorate from the University of Missouri-Columbia, quietly expressed his thanks for the honor.

“My dad also was a professor,” Lee explained, “and I never understood why he loved his job so much and hung out with the students, but now, after starting at MTSU, I understand.”

One of the largest communication 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.

The college also is home to the new Tennessee Journalism Hall of Fame at MTSU, which was officially unveiled in 2012 after four years of planning and inducted its first six honorees last year.

For more information about MTSU’s College of Mass Communication, visit www.mtsu.edu/masscomm.

— Gina E. Fann (gina.fann@mtsu.edu)