As the Coordinator of Student Media, Reaz Mahmood has advised PSU's student-run media groups since joining Student Activities and Leadership Programs in 2013. The department has evolved into a unique operation within the national college media landscape, replacing a traditional advertising-driven approach with a funding model that conceptualizes media as a public good rather than a business. Along with this transformation came the establishment of a technology department in 2017, another feature marking PSU Student Media as a leading innovator in the field. During his career as a college media advisor since 2009, Reaz has guided newspapers at three institutions to national journalistic awards, along with more than 200 state-level awards from the Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association for Portland State’s student newspaper, the Vanguard.
Originally from Dhaka, Bangladesh, Reaz immigrated to the U.S. at age six and grew up as a rugged Texan, where he obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Radio-Television-Film from the University of Texas at Austin. He subsequently earned a Master of Arts degree in Journalism and Mass Communication from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, with a particular focus on international communication.
Reaz has been legally blind since birth (though he wishes it were illegal so he could brag about it). His disability has affected his worldview in a very literal sense, and he has taken on the moniker of Legally Blind Observer in various contexts. Among his numerous hobbies such as traveling with his wife and photographing his uncooperative dog, he has composed several music albums and dabbled in competitive powerlifting.