The Collegian AIG Board of Directors is recommending two newcomers and one incumbent for this year’s board election. Voting will be online between Sept. 15-23.
After serving six years on the board, including as president since September 2022, Robyn Radomski will be leaving the due to term limits. Nichole Dobo, who was first elected in 2023, is not seeking re-election. Megan Swift, appointed to fill an unexpired term that ends this year, is hoping to return to the board.
Candidates must have served in some capacity on the Collegian staff, be members of the Penn State Alumni Association and be willing to serve a three-year term.
Collegian alumni not nominated by the committee, but wishing to serve, may advance their candidacies by sending to the Collegian AIG board a statement of interest, resume and signatures of 20 Collegian AIG members in support of their candidacies. Self-nominations must be received at CollegianAIG@gmail.com by Aug. 16.
The board-endorsed slate: Scott Dodd (1994), Tim Hyland (1998) and Swift (2023).
Scott Dodd statement:
I’m a senior editor on the National desk at The New York Times, where I steer real-time coverage of America’s defining moments. If journalism is the first rough draft of history, I’m the guy throwing together a quick outline as the news breaks.
I’ve spent three decades navigating the media industry’s high-stakes digital transformation, starting as managing editor at the Collegian. During a dispute with the administration over printing the finals schedule in the paper — instead of requiring students to access it via computer, as the school wanted — we went rogue with a special edition funded by ads, not the university, for the first time in living memory.
After starting my career as a night cops reporter in York, Pa., I’ve been a front-page rewrite guy at The Charlotte Observer, a magazine editor and newsroom leader in the nonprofit space, and an adjunct journalism professor at Columbia University. I use that wide-ranging experience to drive critical news decisions at The Times, while managing crack reporting teams and mentoring the next generation of journalists.
Tim Hyland statement:
I have more than 20 years of experience working as a communications professional in higher education, including stints at four institutions—Carnegie Mellon University, the University of Pennsylvania, Drexel University and Lehigh University—and in numerous roles in institutional communications, crisis communications, strategic communications and development communications.
I currently serve as Assistant Vice President for Advancement Communications & Marketing at Carnegie Mellon University, and previously served as Executive Director of Communications & Stewardship for Penn Medicine Development & Alumni Relations (PMDAR) at the University of Pennsylvania, where I oversaw communications strategy for a development team charged with supporting all areas of Penn Medicine, including research, patient care, medical education, community and global health, and more.
I also previously served as Director of Content & Editorial Strategy at Lehigh University, overseeing content creation for key university publications, digital projects, executive messaging, leadership communications, and all communications related to new and emerging initiatives.
Prior to my time in higher education, I worked as a copy editor and reporter at the Bucks County Courier Times, the Annapolis Capital, and the Baltimore Business Journal. During my time at the Collegian, I worked on the sports staff, covering lacrosse, wrestling and football, and in my last semester was a music writer on the Arts team.
Megan Swift
Megan Swift is a trending news reporter for TribLive (the Tribune-Review) covering current events, important issues and breaking news in the greater Pittsburgh region. She graduated from Penn State Schreyer Honors College in 2023 with a B.A. in print/digital journalism and a minor in creative writing. With a dream of becoming a novelist, Megan is pursuing her graduate degree in creative writing through Harvard Extension School.
At The Daily Collegian, Megan served as the 2022-23 editor-in-chief, as a news editor for more than two years and as a politics reporter during the 2020 election. While in college, she was also a Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications Fellow, news anchor for Centre County Report and Schreyer Honors College Orientation mentor. Megan was involved in Relay for Life benefiting the American Cancer Society, the News Literacy Ambassador Institute in partnership with PEN America, the Singing Lions, Penn State’s Student Leaders Roundtable, the Bellisario Student Leadership Cabinet and Kappa Tau Alpha honor society as well. She served as a 2023-24 Penn State Young Alumni Ambassador after graduation.
Megan is thrilled to serve on the AIG board. She intends to advocate for the Collegian’s members and its legacy by providing a recent graduate perspective in decision-making.
