Media alumni at ‘Chicago Tribune’ win 2026 Pulitzer Prize in Local Reporting

June 4, 2026 Six College of Media alumni have won the 2026 Pulitzer Prize in Local Reporting for their contributions to a Chicago Tribune piece on immigration. Tina E. Akouris (BS ’94, journalism), Angie Leventis Lourgos (BS ’03, journalism), Dan Petrella (BS ’06, journalism; BA ’06, LAS; MS ’10, journalism), Marianne Mather (BS ’96, media studies), […]

Rafael Aguirre

Get to know some of our College of Media Students! Rafael Aguirre is a Class of 2028 advertising major. What made you choose advertising as your major? A specific moment that really confirmed my interest happened during my senior year of high school when I visited Revolution, a sports marketing agency. They work on advertisements […]

Rawan El-Bawab

Get to know some of our College of Media students! Rawan El-Bawab is a Class of 2026 CS + advertising major. What led you to your decision to major in CS + advertising? In high school, I really enjoyed math and statistics, but I was also very interested in psychology. When I was applying to […]

Karys Boeriu

Get to know some of our College of Media students! Karys Boeriu is a Class of 2028 advertising major. What made you choose the College of Media at Illinois? Initially, I was drawn here because of the tight-knit community in the College of Media, but we’re part of such a huge university. There are so […]

Journalism and advertising students amplify female head porters’ stories through global course experience in Ghana

April 29, 2026 | Giuliana Means, Communications Intern “I know from my experience that traveling and working abroad, especially in Africa, can be an inflection point in one’s life and globally contextualize values,” said Charles “Stretch” Ledford, associate professor of journalism, who has visited more than 55 countries throughout his career. “It was incredibly gratifying […]

Ryan Hanson

Get to know some of our College of Media students! Ryan Hanson is a Class of 2026 advertising major. Why did you decide to major in advertising? I was already interested in advertising due to a research paper I did during my senior year of high school, where I had the opportunity to interview OKRP […]

Advertising and ICR faculty, students, alumni present research at 2026 American Academy of Advertising Conference

April 22, 2026 Advertising faculty with appointments in the Institute of Communications Research, doctoral students in ICR, graduate students in advertising, and ICR alumni participated in the 2026 annual conference of the American Academy of Advertising, held March 26-29 in Austin, Texas. Through presentations and panels, they discussed research and ideas related to teaching AI and advertising, […]

Maria Emilia Mancero

Get to know some of our College of Media students! Maria Emilia Mancero is a Class of 2026 advertising major. What led you to your decision to major in advertising at Illinois? I’ve always been artistically inclined, so I knew I wanted to major in something where I could still be creative. Advertising checked all […]

P&G learned how to sell soap then created iconic brands

April 15, 2026 | USA Today In celebration of America’s 250th birthday this year, the USA Today network is taking a look at iconic companies that were founded and flourished in the nation. Jason P. Chambers, professor of advertising and associate dean for access and engagement, shared his insights on the branding impact of Proctor & […]

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