Communication professor makes mentorship matter

Joanne Lisosky, professor of communication, wins 2015 Silver Circle award

The Silver Circle is one of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences [NATAS] most prestigious awards, honoring a lifetime of dedication to the television industry. PLU Communication Professor Joanne Lisosky will be inducted into this prestigious circle on June 6, 2015.

Nominees for this honor must have at least 25 years experience in a performing, creative, technical, production, management, administrative or educational role within the industry. Lisosky has been a member of NATAS-Northwest since she was a graduate student. She is just the fourth academic to receive this honor.

“[The Academy] really helped me connect with the professionals in the area. My teaching assistantship at UW was in television journalism, so it was a perfect fit,” Lisosky noted. “I went on to serve as a member of the NATAS board of governors for more than 20 years, and I have been the scholarship chair for more than 15 years.”

At PLU, Lisosky has been an unofficial adviser to the student television station and has advised MediaLab. She served as faculty adviser and executive producer for “Beyond Burkas and Bombers: Anti-Muslim Sentiment in America” which was awarded first place for long-form journalism for SPJ and was nominated for a student Emmy. Just this year she premiered “Namibia Nine,” for which she acted as the executive producer.

NATAS will award Joanne with the Silver Circle on June 6 at the Hilton Seattle Airport and Conference Center in Seattle.

“I hope everyone who thinks of me thinks ‘Wow, she was tough, but fair’ and ‘She really cared  if I learned something or not.'” – Lisosky