(Posted December 6, 2000)

Juniata College has hired John Wall, formerly a writer-editor with Penn State?s College of Agricultural Sciences, as director of media relations.

Wall has an extensive background in journalism and university relations. He worked at Penn State from 1994 to 2000. He specialized in consumer-based press releases and magazine writing. He also created a series of newspaper infographics called Penn State Pointers, and compiled the College of Agricultural Sciences contact book.

From 1987 to 1994, Wall was assistant lifestyle editor at the Altoona Mirror, where he wrote feature stories and reported on arts events. He also was syndicated movie critic for Thomson News Service, which was distributed to more than 140 newspapers in the Thomson newspaper chain.

He worked as a business writer for Insight magazine in Washington, D.C. from 1985 to 1987. He also worked as a general assignment reporter at the Toledo Blade and as a book critic for the Columbus Dispatch. He also was a copy editor and movie critic for Pacific Stars and Stripes, based in Tokyo, Japan.

Wall earned a bachelor?s degree in journalism from Ohio State University in 1984. He served in the U.S. Air Force from 1976 to 1980.

Contact April Feagley at feaglea@juniata.edu or (814) 641-3131 for more information.