The Exponent took home a host of statewide awards this year, a testament to the hard work of student journalists covering Baldwin Wallace University and the broader Berea community.

Baldwin Wallace’s student newspaper was awarded second place for Best College Newspaper in the Ohio Society of Professional Journalists’ 2025 awards. Judges highlighted the newspaper’s commitment to informing the community in their comments.

The paper and its journalists also received four awards from the Ohio News Media Association’s 2025 collegiate awards in the division B category. Specifically third place for news coverage, second place for design, second place for sports writing (Nick Irelan), and third place for opinion writing (Emma Lambert and Sage Mullins). 

Exponent Faculty Advisor Conor Morris said The Exponent’s staff members deserve all the accolades they received.

“The students put in a ton of effort to keep students, staff and local residents informed despite challenging circumstances at the college, with budgets being cut and a transition in faculty advisors early on in the fall semester,” Morris said. ‘The students balanced accountability journalism well with coverage of the vibrant arts and culture scene at the university.”

The Exponent will welcome new leadership this year, as former Managing Editors Israel Gole and Bailey Croft step into the roles of Executive Print Editor and Executive Multimedia Editor, respectively.

The awards for the students’ work spanned two different executive editors’ tenure, with Executive Editor Simon Skoutas graduating in spring 2024 and Executive Editor Meredith McCord graduating in spring 2025.