News Story

Professor Walter Gantz and senior lecturer Anne Ryder retired from The Media School at the end of the spring semester. The faculty members have contributed largely to the academic development of Media School students, while simultaneously excelling their passions for media.

Gantz joined The Media School in 1979 and served as the chair of the Department of Telecommunications, which is now known as the Department of Communication Science, until 2017. He then served as associate dean for The Media School until 2019 and as interim dean until 2023. Over the years, Gantz has taught courses focusing on media processes and effects, research methods, advertising strategies, and media and sports.

Gantz is also a Media School scholarship donor. Named after his wife, Jane, The Jane Gantz Overseas Study Scholarship offers an annual study abroad scholarship to an undergraduate Media School student double majoring in media and Spanish.

Prior to joining The Media School, Ryder spent nearly three decades working as a producer, reporter, and anchor in Lafayette, (WLFI-CBS), Terre Haute, (WTHI-CBS), and Indianapolis (WTHR-NBC). In 2010, she was named to the Indiana Broadcast Hall of Fame. Later, Ryder became a visiting lecturer in journalism for The Media School in 2015, eventually becoming a senior lecturer in broadcast journalism.

As a faculty member, Ryder pushed her students to overcome challenges in reporting, such as the COVID-19 pandemic through creating content remotely. Ryder has earned 18 regional Emmy Awards and five national awards, including two Edward R. Murrow awards. In May, she won the Gretchen A. Kemp Teaching Award.