The SIUC radio-television program continued its winning tradition last weekend at awards ceremonies in Los Angeles and Chicago, an associate professor in the radio-television department says.

SIUC students brought home two out of three student awards and a silver award for a faculty production at the Philo Awards in Chicago.

At the National Broadcasting Society/Alpha Epsilon Rho Awards in Los Angeles, SIUC, competing with 150 schools, won two of 11 grand prizes and two honorable mentions.

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At the National Broadcasting Awards, SIUC has won 90 percent of all the documentary awards in the past five years.

Scott Hodgson, associate professor in the radio-television department, said the department has won more than 150 significant awards since 1991.

If you put all of the film and television schools in the nation together, we’re probably in the top five nationally, he said. Winning all of these awards really is a measuring stick of our overall achievement.

Students in the program also won 12 of 16 awards at the International Student Media Contest in February at Indianapolis, including best documentary. SIUC has not won less than half of the awards at the festival in the last three years

Joe Foote, dean of the College of Mass Communication and Media Arts, said SIUC always has had a strong reputation in its media programs.

We’ve had a 40-year history of excellence in communications, he said. The awards that we’ve been winning show a clear pattern of SIU’s dominance in our field. Some come and go while others stay in the picture, and the last five years of consistency gives me clear evidence that we are one of the best in the country.

Michael Starr, chairman of the radio-television department, said the awards help students build a solid foundation for their careers.

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Students learn in a competitive arena how to make a professional product, he said. Our winning awards for this long proves our efforts are no fluke, and companies recognize that when our students apply for jobs.

Hodgson said he is proud of his students’ efforts over the past few years.

Our students are standing up each year and competing regularly, Hodgson said. That is an amazing feat considering that our equipment is starting to become outdated. It shows that the creativity and efforts of the students is what is making the difference.