2018 in Review

Director's Message

This past year was an eventful one for the Valenti School of Communication as we celebrated two major milestones: the 10th anniversary of being named for Jack Valenti and the 40th anniversary of becoming a formal school of communication. These important milestones made our successes, which you can read about below, even more meaningful.

As we move into our 41st year of being Houston's School of Communication, I hope you are proud of the legacy we have built and continue to develop. I am filled with #ValentiPride every time I enter the school.

Celebrated 40 years

as the University of Houston's School of Communication.

Awarded scholarships

to 26 students for the 2018-2019 academic year, totalling more than $106K.

Produced Houston Sports Central

for the second year. This weekly sports show for UH Athletic airs on AT&T SportsNet.

Upgraded our building

to include news spaces: the Impact Classroom, Studio B, an uplink room and the communication office.

Launched Press Play

our first podcast, which aired 10 episodes.

Launched Career Alerts newsletter

to students featuring delivers job and internship opportunities.

Students graduated*

from our program between the spring, summer and fall graduations.

(December 2018 count based on estimate.)

Spotlight: GONZO 247 and the Impact Classroom

In 2018, we concluded the Impact Wall campaign to modernize our upstairs classroom, COM 244.

This campaign, which launched in 2017, was fueled by contributions from students, faculty, alumni and community partners. In exchange for their participation, donors’ names were incorporated into the room’s branding. Houston graffiti artist GONZO 247, founder and curator of Aerosol Warfare, donated his talent to designing and installing a mural for the space.

Watch this video to more about his inspiration for the mural..

"If you're trying to incubate, encourage and foster tomorrow's leaders and inspire the next generation of creatives, the environment really sets the tone. Now you walk in and it's not just gray walls staring at you. It's vibrancy. It's colors. It's motion. I think that gives students an advantage.

- GONZO 247 on designing the Impact Classroom

41 students

were enrolled in our Master's program this year.

Average # of students

in our undergraduate program during the spring and fall semesters.

New project option

implemented into our Master's Program, giving students another option to demonstrate mastery.

Our student film project

completed its fourth film.

The top four majors

this year were Media Production, Public Relations, Journalism and Advertising.

Signature events

this year attracted high-profile speakers such as Warner Bros. Courtenay Valenti and Telemundo's José Díaz-Balart.

7 new hires

to our faculty and staff teams.

Spotlight: Jevh Maravilla Gets Creative with McDonalds

Media production student Jevh Maravilla struck headlines in September when the story of a fake McDonald’s poster he and fellow UH student Christian Toledo planted in a Pearland McDonalds went viral.

We caught up with Jevh and discussed his appearance on Ellen, what compelled them to create the poster, and his overall experience being a student at the Valenti School of Communication.

"There are a lot of different factors that inspired me to create the McDonald's poster, but what actually pushed me to go for it was the movie Crazy Rich Asians and how successful it's been... The whole world is a melting pot of different cultures, colors and stories, and I feel like the media does not reflect that. It doesn't near it, and I feel like it needs to. It's about time."

- Jevh Maravilla on the inspiration behind the prank McDonald's poster

3 promotions

including Priscilla Tinsley, Dr. Jaesub Lee and Mariana Galvan.

Over $150K in gifts

for scholarships, building upgrades and student success.

27+ research articles

published by our professors.

Over $48K

awarded to our professors in academic grants.

2018 Highlights

Valenti Student Nola Valente Interns in Israel Tuesday
For almost three months, journalism senior Nola Valente took on a reporting internship in one of the most contentious countries in the world this summer. Based in Jerusalem, Valente worked closely with a small team at a non-profit American news agency called The Media Line
Meet Ashlyn Alter and Jennifer Orellana of Jolt Digital Agency in Sugar Land
Valenti alumni Ashlyn Alter and Jennifer Orellana, founding members of our student-run integrated communication agency Valenti Integrated, launched Jolt Digital Agency in Sugarland Texas.
Alum Malcolm Farrell works BET Soul Train Music Awards
The Valenti School of Communication alumnus Malcolm Farrell recently got the opportunity to work at the 2018 Soul Train Music Awards as a production assistant. This position gave Farrell the chance to work closely and network with industry professionals at a high-scale event.
Hollywood Talk: A Conversation with Courtenay Valenti
Courtenay Valenti, president of production and development at Warner Bros. Pictures and daughter of the late Hollywood powerhouse Jack J. Valenti, spoke at the Valenti School of Communication’s recent event Hollywood Talk on Thursday, October 18.
Harris County Hosts Crisis Communications Training
This fall, our faculty worked with the Harris County Office of Homeland Security & Emergency Management (HCOHSEM) to offer a day of crisis communications training to area public information officers and emergency management partners.
Students Travel to Missouri for Immersive Newsy Journalism Class
Nine students traveled to Columbia, Missouri for a week-long journalism boot camp at Newsy’s headquarters where they learned to edit video, write and anchor. Newsy is a modern, national news network that creates quality video stories targeting a Millennial and Gen X demographic.
Celebrating 40 Years of Impact at the Impact Awards
At our annual Impact Awards ceremony, we celebrated 40 years of existance by honoring student scholarship recipients and highlighting the faculty, staff and community partners who are integral to our success. We also awarded the Impact Award to Telemundo anchorman José Díaz-Balart.
Journalism in Asia: Current Trends and Challenges
Religion and culture play a vital role in the function of journalism, particularly in Asia. To further understand journalism in this region, we hosted the Journalism in Asia: Current Trends and Challenges symposium.
Realistically Ever After: A Turn it Gold Movement
In honor of National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, partnered with Houston-based nonprofit Turn It Gold to screen Realistically Ever After, a feature-length documentary about childhood cancer.

Global involvement in 2018

In 2018, our impact expanded beyond the United States as Valenti students and faculty travelled the world. We also pursued partnerships that allowed us to host international students and scholars. Here are a handful of our global highlights:

In February, Shantou University students visited the Valenti School of Communication for two weeks
In May, Valenti faculty presented in Prague for ICA
Visiting scholar Samar Mohamed El-Shahat, a public relations specialist at Egyptian Holding Company For Airports And Air Navigation joined us as part of a long-term training scholarship from the US/Egypt Higher Education Initiative for Professional Program.
This summer, Nola Valente internship at The Media Line in Israel
This spring, Valenti School of Communication welcomed Fulbright Visiting Scholar Dr. Moniza Waheed

Logos of the places our students have interned

Places Our Students Interned

We prioritize experiential learning and encourage our students to do the same by finding extracurricular and work opportunities that accents their area of study.

In 2018, our students landed a variety of internships - including, but not limited to: the American Diabetes Association, the Houston Chronicle, Houstonia Magazine, Homeland Security and Emergency Management, the Houston Mayor’s Office, The Padgett Group, BEAZ Talent Agency, the World Affairs Council of Greater Houston, KHOU 11 and The Black Sheep Agency.