Topic: College of Communication Information and Media
September 19, 2008
Steve Bell takes to the podium to accept his lifetime achievement award from the Lower Great Lakes Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. The award recognizes his significant contributions to television over the past 25 years.
Steve Bell, a recently retired Ball State University telecommunications professor who made his mark in television news with ABC, was honored Sept. 7 with a lifetime achievement award.
The Lower Great Lakes Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences inducted Bell into the Silver Circle during the regional Emmy ceremonies in Cleveland.
The Silver Circle recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions to television for 25 years or more.
Bell is well-known for his accomplishments as a journalist. He spent about 20 years as a correspondent for ABC News, including 11 years as anchor for "World News This Morning" and the news segments of "Good Morning America." During his career, he received two national Emmy nominations, three regional Emmys and an Overseas Press Club Award.
Bell joined the Ball State faculty in 1992 as the Edmund F. And Virginia B. Ball endowed chair of telecommunications and went on to serve as department chair. He then taught in the department until retiring in 2007.
Ball State President Jo Ann M. Gora introduced Bell during the ceremonies, lauding him for his unwavering dedication to the news profession as well as his leadership as department chair. The university honored Bell in 2008 with an honorary doctor of laws degree.
"Under Steve's leadership, his department made the transition to a new college, a successful transition that has helped transform Ball State's College of Communication, Information, and Media into a place that has produced so many student Emmy Award nominees and winners at this very event over the years," she said. "Throughout his tenure, he was in constant demand as a public speaker and writer on the role of the news media in the democratic process."
Also during the event, NewsWatch, a Ball State student-produced nightly television news program, won the university's 21st Emmy since 2000 for extensive coverage of alumnus David Letterman's visit in 2007. Ball State received nine regional Emmy nominations this year.
Letterman, a member of the class of 1969 and host of his own late night television talk show, returned to campus to dedicate the David Letterman Communication and Media Building. More than 5,000 people attended the ceremony.
By Marc Ransford, Senior Communications Strategist