2009 Hall of Fame Inductees


Jeffrey R. Caponigro

Class of 1979

President & CEO
Caponigro Public Relations, Inc.

Caponigro served on the CMU Board of Trustees for six years, including two terms as president.
The new multimedia journalism lab on the fourth floor of Moore Hall bears his name.

Matt Dobek

Class of 1981

Vice President of Public Relations
The Detroit Pistons

Dobek was named director of public relations for the Pistons in 1983, the youngest PR director in the National Basketball Association at the time. He has received numerous state and national honors.

Terry Foster

Class of 1981

Reporter
The Detroit News and broadcaster
The Valenti & Foster radio show

Foster joined The News in 1988 after reporting stints in Grand Rapids and at The Detroit Free Press. In addition to his reporting duties, he is co-host of the No. 1 sports radio show in the Detroit market. He is regarded as a pioneer in "new media" ventures.

Monetta Richey Harr

Class of 1971

Retired staff writer
The Jackson Citizen Patriot

Harr spent her entire 35-year career at the Citizen Patriot, specializing in writing about food and religion,
after starting out her career as the first female sports editor at a daily newspaper in California.
She retired in January.

Rick McKay

Class of 1976

Deputy Photo Editor
The White House, Washington, D.C.

McKay has covered photojournalism assignments around the world, from Vietnam to Russia.
His work has been featured in Time, Newsweek and U.S. News and World Report and Esquire magazines.
His images were part of a 1998 news series that won the Pulitzer Prize.

Betsy Pollard Rau

Class of 1975

Retired high school journalism educator
H.H. Dow High School in Midland

Rau is considered one of the most innovative high school journalism educators in the nation.
Last year she received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the national Journalism Education Association.
She currently is an adjunct professor in the Journalism Department.


The 1979-80 staff of Central Michigan Life will also be honored for their 30th anniversary.