Retirement Reception for Student Media Director Steve Wilkes to Be Held May 4

Steve Wilkes has positively impacted the lives of countless journalism students over the last 18 years as director of Student Media. Please join Division of Student Affairs on May 4 as they honor Wilkes on his retirement from the University of Arkansas.

A drop-in reception will be held from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. on May 4 in the Student Media Newsroom on the first floor of Kimpel Hall, room 119. Brief remarks to be made by Wilkes' colleagues and friends about 4:30.

Wilkes has been a member of the University of Arkansas community for 29 years, starting out as a student in the late 1980s.

"When I left the Army in 1987 expecting to attend college that fall it was most likely the University of Missouri or UMKC," Wilkes said. "Instead, I decided to take a look at the UA on the recommendation of my step-father. And so one day in April 1987, I found myself wandering the corridors of Kimpel Hall. Quite by accident, I met Bob Douglas, who was the chair of the journalism department at the time. We talked for about 45 minutes, and when I left that meeting I knew that I would study journalism at the UA."

Wilkes came to the University of Arkansas as a student and in 1990 served as the editor of The Arkansas Traveler.

"Mr. Douglas was my faculty adviser. That year, The Arkansas Traveler was chosen as the best non-daily college newspaper in the country by the Society of Professional Journalists," Wilkes said. "It was my great good fortune to be surrounded by so many talented student staff members."

After graduation Wilkes worked as a writer for the Arkansas Water Resources Research Center. He joined the University of Arkansas staff in 1992 as communications specialist for the School of Law. In October 1997 he became the director of Student Publications, which is now Student Media. During the last 18 years, the department has grown from The Arkansas Traveler and the Razorback yearbook to include the UATV television station, KXUA radio, and the Hill magazine.

"Steve has touched the lives of so many students over the years," said Scott Flanagin, executive director of communications for Student Affairs. "He has inspired young journalists and helped give them the kind of experiences necessary to succeed in the profession. He will be missed, and we wish him the best in any new endeavors."

During Wilkes tenure as director of Student Media, UA Student Media groups have been awarded many prestigious awards, including the Associated Collegiate Press Pacemaker, considered the equivalent of a Pulitzer Prize for student work; both Silver Crown and Gold Medalist awards from the Columbia Scholastic Press Association at Columbia University; Society of Professional Journalist Mark of Excellence Awards, and numerous general excellence awards from the Arkansas College Media Association. Notably, between 2007 and 2014, the Razorback yearbook was a finalist or a recipient of the ACP Pacemaker.

"I'm proud to have led Student Media in establishing a professional workplace and office culture where students could grow, learn and develop their skills as journalists, editors, producers, photographers, graphic artists and account representatives," Wilkes said. "My greatest joy has been seeing former student staff members grow in their personal and professional lives, knowing that I played a role, however small, in helping them gain a few of the skills they would need to be successful in whatever they chose do in life."

Wilkes said he is not certain of his next professional move, but he is going to miss the campus community and working with students.

"The UA has been my professional home for so long that it is hard to imagine what it will be like not being a daily member of the campus community," Wilkes said. "I'll miss the excitement and energy of each new semester and the calm at the end of a semester, the wonder in the eyes of new students and watching students grow into themselves during their college careers."

Wilkes has plenty to keep him occupied from his gig as drummer in the Claudia Burson Jazz Trio, producing a jazz show on public radio and co-hosting video podcasts about home brewing.

"I'm not certain what is next," Wilkes said. "I'm retiring from the UA, but not from my community, and I look forward to exploring new opportunities. In the meantime, I'll continue to perform as a musician, produce my radio show, Jazz Travels, on KUAF, and co-host a video podcast on BasicBrewing.com."

The campus and Fayetteville communities are invited to the drop-in reception on May 4, from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. in the Student Media Newsroom on the first floor of Kimpel Hall, room 119.