Inquirer Reporter In Penn State's College Of Communications

8-28-96
University Park, Pa. - Russ Eshleman, chief of The Philadelphia Inquirer Harrisburg Bureau, has been chosen to participate in the 1996 Professional-in-Residence Program co-sponsored by the Penn State College of Communications and The Inquirer.

Beginning its fourth year, the program brings professional journalists to the University Park campus to take classes to enhance their skills, speak in journalism classes, work with the faculty on special projects, and meet with students to discuss careers.

"This program brings top flight professionals from the newsroom to the classroom, and we are delighted to partner with The Inquirer, one of the word's best-written newspapers, in such a beneficial way," said Terri Brooks, Dean of the College of Communications.

"We have made a commitment at The Inquirer to help out journalists continue to develop professionally," said Maxwell E.P. King, editor of The Inquirer. "This program offers our veteran staffers an opportunity to delve into new subjects away from daily deadlines and to use their years of experience to teach budding journalists."

Eshleman, 41, joined the Inquirer's suburban staff in 1984 and moved to the Harrisburg bureau two years later. In addition to day-to-day stories on the legislature and government agencies, Eshleman has covered numerous breaking stories, including former Governor Robert Casey's heart-liver transplant in 1993 and the deadly crash of a USAir jet near Pittsburgh in 1994. He won the Distinguished Writing Award from the American Society of Newspaper Editors in 1992 for his features about state government.

A native of Lancaster, Eshleman has worked as adjunct instructor at Lebanon Valley College's Lancaster Center, where he teaches a newspaper editing course. Before joining The Inquirer, Eshleman worked as a reporter and editor at the Lancaster New Era and a newsreporter and sportswriter at the Gettysburg Times.

Eschleman holds a bachelor of science degree in journalism from West Virginia University (1977). He and his wife, Lisa McKinney Eshleman, have three children and reside in Landisville.

For further information, contact Christine Templeton, director of alumni and public relations, at (814) 865-8801.