Staff
Emily Harrison
Director of development at The Media School
Emily Harrison, BAJ'01, director of development at The Media School
“I am a 2001 graduate of IU’s journalism program and my career started in an agency. I was a PR coordinator and a PR specialist here in Bloomington and in Indianapolis. I moved to Chicago and became the communications director of a non-profit, so I had a little bit of exposure to the development world through that position. My career path was never going to be in a newsroom. Even when I was in the School of Journalism, I was studying advertising and my internships were in public relations.
I’ve been here since the transition to The Media School. My job is about connecting our alumni back to the school in ways that are most meaningful to them. Whether that’s coming to campus, touring the building, meeting with students and faculty, or giving back through philanthropy.
When we go out to markets, we usually focus on Chicago, New York, and Los Angeles because that’s where a lot of our alumni have ended up being in the media world. We host alumni events in all those markets and it’s an opportunity for the alumni to network with each other as well as network with students.
We established our Distinguished Alumni Awards as a part of the School of Journalism centennial celebration in 2011. As we evolved into The Media School, the awards recognized alumni from all our different disciplines. We are looking for people who are leaders and innovators in their field and have educated future leaders.
Fundraising is my primary responsibility. I work closely with the dean to understand the vision for the school and how to establish our fundraising priorities accordingly. Matching those priorities with the passions of our alumni is where the magic happens. Our fundraising priorities always focus on the strategic plan of the university and that is supporting our students first.”
Written By Mia Galante
Photos By Emma Ramirez