Russ Eshleman heads the Department of Journalism and teaches depth reporting, news media ethics, reporting methods, feature writing and the news practicum. His depth reporting students have consistently placed high in the national Hearst Journalism Awards Program.

A former reporter and Pennsylvania statehouse bureau chief with The Philadelphia Inquirer, Eshleman won a Distinguished Writing Award from the American Society of Newspaper Editors in 1992. Two articles honored by that award were reproduced in a 2006 book titled “America’s Best Newspaper Writing: A Collection of ASNE Prize Winners.”