PULLMAN, Wash. — Hugh Imhof, long-time journalist and communication professional in Spokane, has been named senior associate director of News and Information Services at Washington State University, effective Feb. 15.
He succeeds Al Ruddy, who retires on Jan. 31 after 26 years at WSU in media relations and communications.
“We are very pleased that Hugh Imhof has agreed to join the News and Information team at WSU in this important role,” Barbara Petura, director of News and Information Services, said. “He has in-depth experience as a journalist, excellent insights on current issues in the state and region, and as an alumnus also knows WSU well.
“Al has done an excellent job helping reporters find the WSU facts and sources they need, and Hugh has expressed great interest in continuing that tradition,” she said.
For 12 years, Imhof, 50, was a reporter for KHQ-TV in Spokane, covering regional issues in business, politics, the environment and education. Before that, he was with KSPS public television in Spokane, working as a producer, director and on-air talent. He currently is the producer and moderator of Spokane This Week, a weekly news analysis program on KSPS-TV.
Since 1993, he has owned a communication and public affairs consulting firm, Hugh Imhof Vision Communications, in Spokane. He has also done freelance writing and photography for regional newspapers and magazines.
The 1975 communication graduate from WSU began his college studies at Ricks College in Rexburg, Idaho, earning an associate of arts degree in psychology in 1969.
He is a member of the Inland Northwest Society of Professional Journalists Board of Trustees and is the immediate past president of the Spokane Public Relations Council. He also serves on the Eastern Washington University Community Relations Council.
His career has included teaching broadcast news writing part-time at EWU from 1985-1987 and serving as interim executive director of Walk in the Wild Zoo in 1994. He has earned honors for his reporting in business and economics, arts and criticism, and for videos and newsletters produced for clients including Washington Water Power, now Avista Corp.
A native of Germany, he moved to America with his family in 1953 and grew up in New York City. He served in the U.S. Army in Vietnam as an Airborne Ranger and received a Purple Heart after being wounded in action.
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