New Scholarship at Pitt-Bradford

Jeff and Joan Guterman of Allegany, N.Y., have endowed a scholarship to benefit the students in the program Guterman directs at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford, where he is an associate professor of communications.

The Jeffrey and Joan Guterman Broadcast Communications Scholarship will provide scholarships to deserving undergraduate students who have a grade point average of at least 3.0 and are enrolled at or planning to enroll at Pitt-Bradford in broadcast communications.

Jeff Guterman came to Pitt-Bradford in 1985 to start the university’s communications program, which officially began in January 1989. Guterman, now an associate professor of communications and director of the communications program, said he wanted to endow the scholarship now in part to coincide with the program’s 20thanniversary.

“I’ve been thinking of starting a scholarship like this for a long time,” Guterman said. Joan Guterman is a substitute teacher at Allegany (N.Y.) Elementary School and so supporting education has been a priority for both of them.

Guterman said he has seen how much scholarships mean to his students and knows how much they meant to his family when his daughter was in college.

“It’s something I saw first-hand as a parent,” he said of the importance of scholarships for students.

Guterman is recognized as a favorite teacher and dedicated member of the faculty. In 2003, Guterman was chosen by the Pitt-Bradford Alumni Association as the winner of its Teaching Excellence Award. Earlier this year, the Communications and Marketing Department recognized the broadcast communications program as its Go Beyond Brand Champions.

Guterman has also won numerous awards from the Broadcast Education Association for both papers and videos. Before coming to Pitt-Bradford, he was a television producer and director in the Pacific Northwest.

“Commitment and dedication to students and Pitt-Bradford is what Jeff is all about,” said Jim Pasinski ’00, a communications major who spent several years in radio and newspapers before moving on to public relations.

“Creating this scholarship exemplifies his dedication and will go a long way toward helping deserving students reach their goals.”

Communications alumnus Bob Hand ’93 remembers how Guterman’s professional experience helped him launch his own career.

“I was completely prepared to begin my career in broadcasting after my time in the communications program at Pitt-Bradford. I even worked with Jeff on one of his professional projects. I remember Jeff telling us about high-definition television in class in 1990 or ’91. Years later I started hearing about HDTVs. I’m pretty sure we had a test question about resolution!”

For more information on applying for this scholarship, contact the Pitt-Bradford Office of Financial Aid at 814-362-7550.

To make a contribution to the fund, call the Office of Institutional Advancement at 814-362-5091.