UIS Thom M. Serafin Public Affairs Reporting Scholarship

Students seeking to excel in the journalistic and politically rigorous field of public affairs reporting can benefit from the generous contribution of prominent Midwest political analyst and communications advisor, Thom Serafin. As founder and CEO of Serafin & Associates, Inc., a communications team that provides strategic counseling on public relations initiatives, campaigns, and crisis and reputation management, Serafin has served as a strategist for some of the country’s most high-profile politicians. His distinguished career includes serving as press secretary for three U.S. Senate campaigns, a U.S. Presidential campaign, and on the Washington D.C. staff of U.S. senator, Alan Dixon. Serafin, who is a regular speaker on Chicago’s WGN, ABC, NBC and Fox networks, has also appeared on NBC’s Today Show. He received his Master’s degree in Public Affairs Reporting from the University of Illinois at Springfield (then Sangamon State University), under the direction of his longtime friend and mentor, Paul Simon.