Dan Reimold, a journalism professor whose site College Media Matters was a go-to source for news and smart thinking about how college journalism is changing, has died. He was 34. From a release by the College Media Association:

What Jim Romenesko did for professional media, Dan Reimold did for college media through his popular blog College Media Matters. He covered the students who were covering their campuses, and he consistently legitimized an often-overlooked area of journalism. When collegiate media was facing budget cuts, publication thefts and other threats, he shed light on their struggles.

Reimold was an assistant professor of journalism at St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, where he advised The Hawk student newspaper and taught basic and advanced journalism classes.

“Losing Dan is a huge blow to College Media Association and Associated Collegiate Press, but also to college media in general,” said Kelley Callaway, vice president of member services for College Media Association, of which Reimold was an active member. “He was energetic, funny, innovative and engaging. His loss is a personal and professional one.”

In the last few years, Reimold drew large crowds to his blog, but also to his sessions at college media conventions and other workshops and conferences throughout the country. His hackathon, based on his book “Journalism of Ideas” routinely brought in 100+ students during evening hours, not an easy task in places like New York and New Orleans. His energy and enthusiasm for seeking out the quirky, untold stories on college campuses encouraged attendees to explore those stories at their own schools.

Reimold was known for successfully bridging the gap between collegiate journalism and academics, publishing scholarly articles in College Media Review and Newspaper Research Journal and journalistic pieces for USA Today and The Huffington Post. Reimold was the Campus Beat columnist for USA TODAY College and maintained a monthly column on the student press for Poynter.

His textbook, Journalism of Ideas: Brainstorming, Developing, and Selling Stories in the Digital Age, was published in spring 2013 by Routledge. His first book on college media, Sex and the University: Celebrity, Controversy, and a Student Journalism Revolution, was published in fall 2010 by Rutgers University Press. He also had recently begun holding weekly Twitter chats about college media.

“He was undisputedly the foremost scholar on college media today,” said CMA President Rachele Kanigel. “I can’t think of another person who came close to his stature in the field. His independent news site College Media Matters was the go-to spot for all news about college media and his writings were widely cited by journalism educators and researchers.”

From Associated Collegiate Press:

“We know how much Dan loved what he did and loved being part of the college media world,” [Dan’s brother] Zach told ACP. Zach said his brother suffered an accident in his Wynnewood, Pa. apartment. Details about funeral arrangements will be posted as they become available. In the meantime, Zach and his parents ask for privacy.

“Dan was incisive, inquisitive, and passionate about his students and the First Amendment. He had the rare gift of being able to get people to laugh out loud and learn at the same time,” said Diana Mitsu Klos, ACP executive director.

I never had the pleasure of meeting Dan in person, but I benefited from reading his work for years. Dan wrote one piece for Nieman Lab — this one on Mt. San Antonio College’s student media trading in print for distributed publishing — back in May. He was a pleasure to work with, and let me give him a compliment I’m sure his journalism students can appreciate: He was a very clean edit. Our thoughts are with his family, students, and colleagues.

Never talked to anyone kinder & more willing to help than Dan Reimold. His death is awful news. RIP @collegemedia http://t.co/cjhvnADFKK

— Polo Rocha (@polorocha18) August 21, 2015

RIP Dan. It's gonna be a lot tougher for college journalists without you to guide them, @collegemedia . http://t.co/RbD4YrmAw4

— paulconley (@paulconley) August 21, 2015

Dan Reimold R.I.P. @collegemedia. He was such a stalwart, insightful member of the j-education and college media community. Such a sad loss.

— Mark Glaser (@mediatwit) August 21, 2015

A hard pill to swallow. @collegemedia was a kind, energetic person and this world could use more teachers like him. http://t.co/ToUcwPBRKN

— Sam Stites (@SamS12) August 21, 2015