Media Hall of Fame - Susan Rozman Delia

Susan Rozman Delia (posthumus), 1982, Broadcast and Cinematic Arts: Rozman Delia, a 1982 Broadcast and Cinematic Arts graduate, was selected as one of six 2024 honorees who have distinguished themselves in their professions. She spent 16 years on a fast track toward building an award-winning broadcasting career before she succumbed to cancer in 1998.

The eldest of six children, Rozman Delia grew up in a close family in the Detroit suburb of Livonia and attended Stevenson High School. Her sister, Sally Williams, remembers her as a natural leader.

“Sue was quietly fun and a little reserved, but smart and had leadership abilities,” she said. “She was really humble and down to earth, yet driven and a good role model for me. As one of six kids, she knew that she would need a scholarship to attend college, so that’s what she did, along with buying a used car. She just knew what she wanted.”

Once on campus and sharing a room in Cobb Hall with a good friend from high school, Rozman Delia quickly discovered the broadcasting program – and News Central, the nationally recognized, student-run newscast.

“Back in the early 1980s, the show was pretty advanced and innovative,” said Williams. “She met fellow student Brett Holey, now Senior Director of News for NBC Nightly News, and became great friends. Look at Brett and what they’ve all gone on to do.”

Rozman Delia was closely mentored by Dr. Bob Braunlich and developed her leadership skills through her position as president of the CMU Chapter of Alpha Epsilon Rho (AERho) of the Broadcast Education Association. She was named National Member of the Year and twice helped  CMU earn National Chapter of the Year honors.

Graduation day came as an exciting day for her and her family, who all celebrated the milestone achievement over dinner at a golf club near Highway 127, Williams recalled. Looking forward to the future, Rozman Delia only knew one person in New York City but decided to move there. She soon accepted an administrative position in affiliate relations at ABC Television, but it didn’t take her long for her to advance up the ranks to lead the team.

“Sue fell in love with New York City, but my parents were terrified,” said Williams.

In 1986, Rozman Delia also met and fell in love with ABC coworker and “Good Morning America” production assistant Larry Delia and married him in 1989. He remembers their great life together.

“Sue was everybody’s friend. She had a Mary Tyler Moore personality – easygoing, friendly and she listened to people,” said Delia. “We had a wonderful relationship and marriage in suburban Simsbury, Connecticut. She was so good at her job. After she graduated from CMU, she got in her car and got a job as a secretary, and a few years later she was their peer at age 26. She did it with grace and intelligence – nothing cutthroat.”

In 1987, Rozman Delia joined ESPN, the revolutionary sports cable network, and again rose quickly to the top. As vice president of affiliate sales and marketing, she was one of the highest-ranking women there. Delia credits his late wife’s CMU education for preparing her for such a meteoric rise.

“I studied television broadcasting at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, which is a great school, but we didn’t have anything like the broadcasting program at CMU. Sue talked about Dr. Joe Misiewicz all the time, and years later I had the chance to meet him. He had such a way about him that transcended his classroom. He remembered Sue the same way that many others did. It’s a small world,” he said.

Visionary in its approach to teaching leadership skills years ago, Delia believes that CMU taught his late wife how to develop a positive team culture and that’s why she was successful.

“Today if you’re a leader, the focus is first on culture and treating people with respect. Way back then it was about being good at what you did. Sue listened to her team and would trust them and allow them to guide the project. Her ego didn’t take her to a place where she was the loudest voice in the room. She was ahead of her time,” he said.

Rozman Delia was first diagnosed with ocular melanoma in 1985, just three years after graduation. Twelve years later, it metastasized. She passed away just seven months later, in early 1998, at the age of 37. In 2003, alumni and friends established the Susan Rozman Delia Memorial Scholarship, which has provided support for more than 20 years to students pursuing electronic media careers. Now, 42 years after her graduation, her induction into the Media Hall of Fame has once again touched her family.

“When Brett Holey reached out to us, we were all so touched that her peers so many years later would do this,” said Delia. “She was so liked by friends and colleagues. She truly had an aura about herself that just made people feel comfortable and trusted.”