Alumni Academy

The purpose of the academy is to give honor and recognition to a select group of our outstanding graduate and undergraduate alumni.

It is with great pride and enthusiasm that we honor them – and thank them for their willingness to give back to our school.

School of Communication 2001 Alumni Academy Inductee

Brian Hire

Since graduating in 1991 with an M.A. in communication, Brian Hire has been working as a presentation consultant at Steelcase, Inc. His duties include the concept, design, and production of all Steelcase internal meetings, sales, and dealer events. As a producer, Brian collaborates with others to produce music, video, and PowerPoint presentations. He also furnishes sound, lighting, and set designs for shows along with operating the Steelcase Town Hall and Corporate Theater. Brian also collaborates on design and construction of the company’s theatrical spaces, showrooms, and audio visual facilities. These spaces have been featured in several publications including Sound and Video Communication, Architectural Lighting, Lighting Dimensions, and Architectural Record. The most recent project was the conversion of 16,000 square feet of a former manufacturing facility into a meeting space for 1,200. This space includes full lighting, sound, and video production systems, and is capable of staging a small meeting or a full theatrical production. In addition to his work at Steelcase, Brian also has his own company, Symposia, LLC. Symposia is a consulting business that focuses on presentation and communications systems for corporate clients. Projects now include a communications center for Sub Zero freezers. This building incorporates a number of electronic systems to facilitate presentations to internal and external audiences. Brian lives in Grand Rapids with his wife Barbara and daughter Maggie. His personal interests include a project to break the windpowered world speed records on ice, land, and water.