Twelve-time Emmy Award winning photojournalist Paul Ruggieri is teaching documentary video this semester for the communication department at Saint Vincent College, part of the college’s School of Social Sciences, Communication, and Education.

Mr. Ruggieri was awarded four Mid-Atlantic Emmys this year and nominated for 10 categories. Mr. Ruggieri works full-time at WQED in Pittsburgh as an on-line producer, television photojournalist and editor. He was the director of photography for documentaries such as “Pittsburgh to Poland: Lessons of the Holocaust,” “Pittsburgh to the Vatican,” and “Pittsburgh A – Z.”

“With my 20 years of experience in television, I’m now able to take a message and use music, natural sound and narration to pull on the heart strings or make a person feel like a participant, rather than a viewer,” Mr. Ruggieri said of the lessons he will teach his students. “The students will gain hands-on experience and will shoot a documentary as their final project.”

According to associate communication professor and department chairperson Dr. Ronald Davis, Mr. Ruggieri’s expertise will help Saint Vincent students learn the basics of documentaries because “this is what he does day in and day out. He’s a documentarian,” Dr. Davis commented.

“I think the experience I bring to the classroom will kick up the production efforts a notch,” Mr. Ruggieri stated. He said he is setting the level of quality high by asking the students to produce a polished and professional looking product. “I want to raise the bar so my students will reach far beyond where they think they can go with their production efforts,” he added.

“I’m very excited to be a part of the communication program in the School of Social Sciences, Communication, and Education at Saint Vincent College. It’s nice to be with students who really care and put effort into learning communication skills,” Mr. Ruggieri concluded.

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