The Online Reflector

The Reflector has evolved with time and has seen its share of staff and advisers. The adviser position has been filled by a diverse group of people since the establishment of The Reflector in 1922.

“There were times when the adviser was a member of the editing staff, and other times, it was a faculty member,” said former adviser Peter Noot. “If at times a faculty member with the interest or the time was unavailable, they would cast out the position and try to find somebody.”

Noot was The Reflector’s adviser from 1980-1983.

“Over the years, The Reflector’s jobs have become more professionalized,” he said. “There weren’t paid positions for editing staff, there wasn’t even college credit offered for the class.”

Noot is currently the Director of Publications and University Editor at the University of Indianapolis.

That means that anything intended for public dissemination comes across his desk. He also ghostwrites for UIndy’s president.

Previous adviser Lou Gerig taught the sixth grade and moonlighted for the Monticello Herald Journal before he became an adviser for The Reflector in 1974. He remained the adviser for three years.

“The staff was very good when I was adviser. The students were very self-sufficient, I just had to make sure they didn’t write anything politically incorrect,” Gerig said. “Some years were better than others, but overall it was a pretty powerful experience to see the publication created from scratch.”

After working for The Reflector, Gerig went on to become an assistant to White House Press Secretary Jim Brady, before he landed a partnership at the Public Relations firm Sease, Gerig & Associates.

“Working in the trenches of a newspaper will set you up for a successful future in journalism, if that is what you choose,” Gerig said. “But either way, you learn essential fundamentals for anything that involves communication.”

Terri Johnson was The Reflector’s adviser from 1987-1994. Prior to working for the UIndy student newspaper, she was Editor-in-Chief of the Morgan County Gazette.

She also was an information director for the Indiana State Highway Commission Office and Press Secretary to Gov. Otis Bowen. The Reflector won a number of awards under her leadership.

“The students were great, but I worked with them each step of the way,” Johnson said. “Every Sunday, from midday until late evening, all the editors, including myself, reviewed the paper to make sure it was done, and done well.”

After departing from The Reflector, Johnson went on to teach public relations, news writing and publicity methods at Eastern Illinois University. She has been there for 10 years.

The current adviser of The Reflector is Jeanne Criswell. Criswell has served as faculty adviser to the newspaper since 2001.

Sophomore psychology major Laura Hurdish reads The Reflector regularly and she has enjoyed seeing the stories that the newspaper has featured over the two years that she has been enrolled at UIndy.

“I think it’s a great way to keep students informed,” she said. “Even though UIndy is a small campus, sometimes it’s easy to get lost in the shuffle. And the newspaper creates a community feeling.”

Despite an ever-changing staff of editors and advisers, The Reflector has become a staple for the campus community. Throughout the years, the campus newspaper has kept the UIndy community abreast of relevant issues.

“It’s cool to think that in another 90 years, people will write about what’s in the newspaper now,” Hurdish said. “I’m really look forward to seeing what will be in future issues of The Reflector.”