Shoma Hall provides superb environment for communication studies.

It’s the gathering place where award-winning journalists, including a recent panel of Pulitzer Prize winners, have recounted the assignments that made their careers. Where the top public relations professionals have debated what went wrong in the days following major disasters such as the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill. And where 500 students gather regularly learn the skills that will help them succeed in the communications industry now and in the future.

“Ours is a Hurricane family, and we wanted to give back to the university that had such a positive impact in our lives.”

Maria Shojaee

The School of Communication’s Shoma Hall is a 140-seat, theater-styled auditorium/classroom packed with leading-edge technologies to enhance the study of communication—including high-definition production and playback equipment and global videoconferencing with simultaneous translation capability.

This state-of-the-art facility would not have been possible were it not for a $1.5 million gift from Masoud and Maria Shojaee. The couple are UM alumni as well as parents of two alumnae; Maria Schojaee is also a member of the school’s Visiting Committee.

Gifts to the School of Communication are vital sources of support for the sophisticated facilities, comprehensive programs, and hands-on learning opportunities that prepare students for success in this rapidly changing field. “I have learned so much in Shoma Hall in just a few short years and have attended some excellent events there,” says student Brooke LeMaire, a junior majoring in public relations. “We’re very fortunate to have a place like this.”