By Jillian Ellis

On Thursday, April 3, Benjamin Rowland received the Distinguished Alumnus Award given by the Communication Arts Department for 2013.

Rowland graduated from Lee in 2002 with a bachelor of arts in telecommunications.

“Ben set the bar pretty high for what the typical Lee student was all about,” said Mary Dukes, one of Ben’s instructors and currently a lecturer in Digital Media Studies at Lee. “His ingenuity and creativity knew no bounds.”

While a student at Lee, Rowland worked for his department as a lab assistant and directed a regional children’s TV show. Following his graduation, he worked in corporate video in Chattanooga and directed various multi-camera shoots on the side.

Rowland then worked for the national TV series “The Best and Worst of Tred Barta” as an editor, post production supervisor and producer for the series’ eight seasons. This series became the highest rated program on the Versus Network, which later became the NBC Sports channel.

Rowland and his business partner Will Wheeler own and currently manage Yonder Blue Films, a production company based near Atlanta specializing in low-altitude aerial videography. The company regularly shoots for commercials, TV shows and feature films. They have recently shot for Cartoon Network, USA network, National Geographic and the sequel to the Jim Carey and Jeff Daniels film “Dumb and Dumber.”

Rowland, along with his wife Kim and daughter Skyla, currently resides in Georgia.

The award was presented to Rowland on Thursday, April 3 during a visit to Lee.

“It was great to have Ben on campus and give him a tour of the new communications building, along with having him guest lecture in two of our classes,” said Dr. Joel Kailing, chair of the Department of Communication Arts.

“Ben continues to exemplify Christian character and professional excellence,” said Dukes. “The Communication Arts Department is very pleased to present him with our 2013 award.”

Pictured here in front of Lee’s new Communication Arts building is Rowland with Lee faculty (l to r) Matthew Fisher, Dukes, Rowland, Kailing and Dustin Cawood.