2013 Vol. 34 No. 1
COMMUNIC COMM NICATOR TOR A publication of The University of Alabama College of Communication and Information Sciences and its alumni
Good Sports Researchers in the College of Communication and Information Sciences launch The University of Alabama Program in Sports Communication
p. 4 New Hall of Fame members inducted 6 Take our survey for a chance to win an iPad 7 2012 in photos 8
COMMUNIC COMM NICATOR TOR 2013 • Vol. 34 #1 Publisher Dean Loy Singleton Editor Misty Mathews Faculty and Staff Support Beth BenneƩ Carol Bishop-Mills Kim Bissell Jason Edward Black Elizabeth Brock Jennifer Greer Heidi Julien Joseph Phelps Neely Portera Glenda Williams Shuhua Zhou Administra ve Support Melanie Danner Sheila Davis Sammie Schlichter
From the Dean’s desk
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his issue of the Communicator is full of evidence that this academic year has been truly special—unprecedented really—in the number, variety and significance of awards and recognition received by the students, faculty and staff of our college. As in athletics, academic and professional competitive awards are forms of recognition that are also significant measures of program quality. They can provide an important index for assessing progress and comparing program results. All our academic and professional departments can point with pride to local, state and national competitive awards and recognition received this past year. In fact, there were so many, this issue of the Communicator was expanded to accommodate awards coverage, and we still had an overflow that we posted on the College’s website. I know that you and all our alumni readers of the Communicator will be proud to see what our students, faculty and staff have accomplished. We’d love to receive any feedback you can offer on this issue and on our efforts in general to reach you with news of what is going on here in Phifer Hall. We are particularly interested in what your suggestions might be regarding new media and ways to use them to reach you in the most effective and efficient way. As the College continues to grow (now up to some 3,000 students, approximately 75 faculty and 70 staff ), keeping a line of communication open with our alumni is even more important. We want to hear from you as to how well you think we’re doing that job. Send us an email at mmathews@ua.edu, call us at (205) 348-6416 or tweet us at http:// twitter.com/uaccis.
Dean Loy A. Singleton
From the editor College of Communica on and Informa on Sciences Box 870172 Tuscaloosa, AL 35487-0172 communicator@ua.edu cis.ua.edu/communicator This magazine is published by the College to provide informaƟon to alumni, UA community and friends. It is funded by giŌs to the Capstone CommunicaƟon Society. 2 | The Communicator
I wanted to take this opportunity to express how much I appreciate you, our alumni, and all you do for the College of Communication and Information Sciences. One of my goals as editor of the Communicator is to make an alumni magazine of which we — and more importantly, you — are proud. This is an ongoing process and one I can’t do without feedback from the people this magazine serves. The alumni survey we are conducting in conjunction with this year’s alumni magazine will help us get a better picture of who you are, what you’ve accomplished since leaving the halls of Reese Phifer, what you expect from us communication-wise and how you might be interested in becoming involved in new programs we are creating to allow alumni to give back in ways other than monetarily. Please take a few minutes to respond, and if you have further questions or comments, please contact me at the email address listed in Dean Singleton’s message above. Misty Mathews Communicator editor
About the cover: Dr. Andrew Billings, center, is the inaugural director of The University of Alabama Program in Sports Communica on, while Drs. Kim Bissell and Kenon Brown serve as faculty fellows.
Table of Contents 4
Cover story: For Love of the Game C&IS faculty members start Program in Sports CommunicaƟon.
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Hall of Famers Four new members inducted to the CommunicaƟon Hall of Fame.
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Alumni Survey Take our alumni survey for a chance to win a new iPad. 8,000 Words in 2 Pages A photo review of 2012.
10-11 Adver sing/Public Rela ons Alumna inducted to Silver Circle Berger wins Pathfinder Award Horsley named Champion of Change Harvill, East are APR Alumni of the Year APR students ‘Get Shaq to UA’
12-13 Communica on Studies Faculty members publish books Hartley named Alumna of the Year Forensic Council wins 19th championship 14-15 Journalism Alumni, students win major awards Journalism honors Marie Parsons JN Department becomes new NESPA home 16-17 Telecommunica on and Film Brooks named alumna of the year Professor finds success with ‘EaƟng’ Students gain experience through ESPN 18-19 School of Library and Informa on Studies Forty year anniversary Ragsdale named DisƟnguished Alumna Naidoo consults for Sesame Street 20-23 Alumni, faculty and student briefs http://cis.ua.edu/communicator | 3
Photo by Jeff Hanson/University of Alabama Photography
For Love of the Game The University of Alabama Program in Sports Communication started its first year with a bang and hasn’t slowed since. The program is a new initiative housed in the College of Communication and Information Sciences, with a mission of providing an umbrella for sports communication-related research happening on The University of Alabama’s Tuscaloosa campus. After months of planning, the program held its inaugural event in October, welcoming former ESPN President George Bodenheimer for a speaking engagement at the Ferguson Center on camAndrew Billings pus. “George Bodenheimer was a huge name to open what we plan to be an ongoing sports communication lecture series,” said inaugural APSC Director Dr. Andrew Billings, Ronald Reagan Chair for Broadcasting in the College’s Department of Telecommunication and Film. “He’s the longesttenured president of the ESPN family of networks
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and a great asset to the sports communication community.” The APSC has also named a number of faculty fellows, researchers from the College of Communication and Information Sciences and other colleges around the University who have specific interest in sports communication research. Dr. Kim Bissell, associate dean for research in the College and director of the Institute for Communication and Information Research, said one of the Above: Faculty fellows for The University of Alabama Program in Sports Communication include Seth Bordner (philosophy), Kenon Brown (advertising and public relations), Kim Bissell (Institute for Communication and Information Research), Andrew Billings (telecommunication and film), Meredith Bagley (communication studies), Shuhua Zhou (associate dean for graduate studies, College of Communication and Information Sciences), Dwight Cammeron (telecommunication and film), Michael Bruce (telecommunication and film), John Vincent (kinesiology), Lance Kinney (advertising and public relations) and George Daniels (journalism). Not pictured: Lars Anderson (journalism), Jennifer Greer (journalism), Steven MacCall (School of Library and Information Studies).
best aspects of the new program is the way it brings “The objective of the first symposium in March is together researchers from different areas of C&IS to identify and unite all UA-based researchers workand campus. ing in sports areas.” said Kinney, who is organizing “The beautiful thing is that it’s very cross-discithe event. plinary,” Bissell said. “The College has people in “Hopefully, the interdisciplinary character of the every unit doing sports symposium will introcommunication research. duce the participants The area is growing rapto UA colleagues reThe beautiful thing idly in terms of research searching sports, as well and on the pedagogical as their methods and is that it’s very side. Sports aren’t going perspectives on sports inter-disciplinary. away, and the way we research. This first symThe College has are involved in sports posium should position research isn’t going away the College of Commupeople in every unit either.” nication and Informadoing sports-communication The UA program is tion Sciences and The on pace with what other University of Alabama research. ... Sports aren’t U.S. universities such as on the leading edge of going away, and the way we are Penn State, the Universiinter-disciplinary sports ty of Southern California, research collaboration.” involved in sports research the University of Texas, Billings said the work isn’t going away either. Indiana University and done by the faculty felothers have started in lows, under the umbrelrecent years. la of the APSC, is imporDr. Kim Bissell “One of the benefits tant because it provides Associate Dean for Research of a program like this insight into society as a College of Communication is bringing renown to whole. the University and the “For me, personally, and Information Sciences College,” said Dr. Lance sports media provides Kinney, an associate proa glimpse of a bigger fessor in the department world,” Billings said. “I of advertising and public relations who will serve as grew up in a small town in Indiana. one of the program’s faculty fellows. “The University The thought of going to Italy or is well-known for its sporting teams, so as a leader Australia was the equivalent of a athletically in sports, it seems like we could also be trip to Mars. Yet I could watch peoleaders academically in sports.” ple from these countries on TV and Dr. Kenon Brown, an assistant professor in the learn something about their culture, department of advertising and public relations, albeit it in a very defined context. agreed that this is an important program for the Col“The saying used to be that Lance Kinney lege and the University. “Sports is an integral part of sports are a microcosm of society, our daily culture now,” he said. “Especially with the but now it seems equally true that society is a microadvent of social media and ESPN’s 24/7 sports news cosm of sport. The two are so intertwined.” cycle and the way these two things have helped increase activism as sports fans, I think it’s important to Find it online see how communication affects the For more information about sports industry not just financially the University of Alabama but culturally.” Program in Sports CommuniThe next upcoming event for the APSC is a guest lecture by ESPN cation and upcoming events, sportscaster and C&IS alumnus visit the APSC website, Kenon Brown Rece Davis, followed by a universihttp://sportscom.ua.edu/. ty-wide sports-communication research symposium on March 20.
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Hall of Famers By Don Noble & Misty Bell Mathews The College of Communication and Information Sciences annually accepts nominations for its Communication Hall of Fame. The four communication professionals below were inducted October 11, 2012. Robert E. “Bobby” Luckie During his 43 years at Luckie & Co., the advertising agency founded by his father in 1953, Robert E. “Bobby” Luckie held positions from assistant account executive to chairman. With his brother and CEO, Tom, he grew the company to 132 employees with offices in San Antonio and Atlanta as well as Birmingham. Luckie’s attention to detail led to prestigious clients like Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama, Regions Bank, Little Debbie, American Cast Iron Pipe Company and BellSouth/AT&T. In 2000, Luckie was awarded the Silver Medal by the Birmingham Chapter of the American Advertising Federation. At his Alma Mater, Luckie serves on the Board of Visitors of the College of Communication and Information Sciences and also serves on the Board of Visitors of the School of Nursing at UAB. Dr. Sue Medina Each year, The Alabama Association of College and Research Libraries presents its prestigious award, “The Sue O. Medina Significant Contribution Award,” honoring the year’s winner and reminding others of the enormous lifetime contribution of Dr. Sue Medina to librarianship in Alabama. Medina has worked for the preservation of Alabama newspapers, the creation of artwork inventories in Alabama libraries and the promotion of reading Alabama literature with such programs as READ Alabama, an NEHfunded initiative, the Alabama Book Festival and the online literary map “This Goodly Land: Alabama’s Literary Landscape.” Largely as a result of her efforts, we now have Alabama Mosaic, a digital “repository of materials on Alabama’s history, culture, places and people” available worldwide, and the Alabama Virtual Library which makes resources, especially databases, available to schools and individuals throughout the state. Joe Rumore Joe Rumore was one of the biggest radio personalities Alabama has ever known. After graduating high school in
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College of Communication and Information Sciences announces 2012 Communication Hall of Fame inductees 1941, Rumore worked at WJLD in Bessemer and WSFA in Montgomery before returning in 1943 to Birmingham. At Birmingham’s WAPI Joe announced, played music, gave weather, even chatted with live studio audiences. Joe hosted “Round-Up Time” and “The Yawn Patrol,” an early morning favorite. From there he moved to 50,000-watt station WVOK, the Mighty 690, where he remained for 30 years. For a while he had three shows daily: 9-10, for housewives; 12-12:30 for farmers at lunch; and another for teens from 3-4:15, all live, plus an inspirational music show on Sundays. Rumore has been honored by induction into the Country Music DJ Hall of Fame in Nashville in 1999 and by the Contemporary Achievement Media Award from the Alabama Music Hall of Fame in 2003. Dolph Tillotson Dolph Tillotson’s journalism career began with founding a newspaper at his middle school. During his freshman year at the University he was political editor at The Crimson White, but in June of 1969, at age 19, he went to work full-time at The Tuscaloosa News while still attending UA classes. Tillotson became city editor of the News in 1972, general manager of the Natchez Democrat in 1973 and, after a five-year stint as the publisher of the Oskaloosa (Iowa) Herald from 1975-80, Tillotson was appointed president of Boone Newspapers. From 1981-87, he served as publisher of the Natchez Democrat, and in 1984 the Democrat was named one of the 12 best small newspapers in America by the magazine of the American Newspaper Publishers Association. From 1987-2011 Tillotson was president and publisher of the Galveston County Daily News and vice president of Southern Newspapers Inc. Tillotson is now executive vice president of Southern Newspapers of Houston. Under his leadership the Daily News was five times named best newspaper of its size in the U.S. by the National Newspaper Association. Tillotson has been an activist for open government and freedom of information and an innovator in online technology; the Daily News has a daily internet edition with three million page views monthly. In Texas Tillotson received the Pat Taggart Award for industry leadership, the Bronze Steer for his work on open government issues and the James Madison Award from the Texas Freedom of Information Council.
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8,000 WORDS (Year in Photos)
Above: Alumni and friends of the College of Communication and Information Sciences gather for the annual Homecoming Parade Viewing and Reception in October 2012. Right: Dean Loy Singleton and College Librarian Ann Bourne cut the ribbon for the new Learning Commons in the William E. Winter Reading Room.
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Top, left to right: 2012 Knox Hagood award winners Dr. Karla Gower (Advertising and Public Relations), Beth Riggs (School of Library and Information Studies) and doctoral student Tom Meade accept their awards in spring 2012. Center: Students and faculty gather at the 2nd annual C&IS CommUnity Gathering, the College’s State of the College and community-building event. Bottom left: C&IS Board of Visitors President Matt Scalici addresses a crowd of students, parents and alumni at the College’s 2012 Honors Day event. Bottom right: Dean Loy Singleton presented the 2012 Clarence Cason Award to Frye Gaillard.
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Advertising and Public Relations
Ad alumna inducted to Silver Circle
Borden Black, center, with Mark Bullock, anchor WSFA Montgomery, and Richard Elliot, reporter WSB Atlanta, was inducted to The Silver Circle for her contributions to the television industry. Photo courtesy of Borden Black.
Borden Black (Advertising, ‘74), was a 2012 inductee to the Silver Circle of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. The Silver Circle is an honor society recognizing television professionals who have worked 25 years or more in the industry in a performing, creative, technical or administrative position. They have made significant contributions to the southern regional market extending beyond professional excellence and commitment to their craft. Black is currently a freelance journalist but has served as news director at WTVM, WRBL and WLTZ in Columbus, Ga., and has also anchored and reported for all three network-affiliated stations in the city. Under her leadership, WRBL and WLTZ won Associated Press awards for best newscast. She was also presented the Georgia AP President’s Award for Excellence in Journalism.
Bruce Berger wins IPR’s Pathfinder Award Dr. Bruce Berger, Reese Phifer Professor of Advertising and Public Relations, received the Institute for Public Relations’ Pathfinder Award for career contributions to scholarly public relations research in 2012. The award recognizes research that contributes significantly to the field of public relations. Factors in the selection committee’s decision include scholarly contributions resulting in the publication of major articles, chapters and/or books that integrate a program of research or articulates its importance to public relations research and practice. “I know many of the previous recipients of this award, so I am happy
and humbled,” Berger said. “I thank the APR Department and the College of Communication and Information Sciences for its ongoing support of my research and that of others here. It’s a great culture in which to work.” Before his time at UA, Berger Bruce Berger served as vice president of corporate affairs for Whirlpool Corp. and president of the Whirlpool Foundation. He is founding director of the Plank Center for Leadership in Public Relations and an IPR trustee. His
research encompasses public relations leadership, employee communications and public policy influence, and he currently is leading a large international study of communication management. “The Pathfinder Award is a huge honor, and, in Dr. Berger’s case, it is a well-deserved honor,” said Dr. Joseph Phelps, chairman of the department of advertising and public relations. “His research garners acclaim both in the academy and in the profession, and that is an accomplishment that very few can rightfully claim. To my knowledge, this is the first time a UA faculty member has received this award.”
APR student and faculty briefs
graduate degrees in advertising, marketing and public relations. Platform Magazine, an online magazine managed by UA undergraduate public relations students, received a Hermes Creative Gold Award for Website Overall-Nonprofit, as well as an Award of
Excellence in the PRCA Student Medallion Awards. You can view the magazine online at http://platformmagazine.org/. Two advertising and public relations graduate students were winners in the Arthur W. Page Society’s 2012 Case Study Competition. Master’s student Continued on p. 20
Benjamin T. Ladrillono, an advertising and public relations major, received a $5,000 scholarship from The LAGRANT Foundation. The scholarships are awarded to ethnic minority students across the United States pursuing undergraduate or
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Horsley named Champion of Change, Educator of the Year Dr. J. Suzanne Horsley, assistant professor of advertising and public relations, was honored in 2012 as a White House “Champion of Change.” Horsley was one of nine volunteers and employees nationally recognized for work with the American Red Cross. The award honored her volunteer work with the organization, including following the April 27 tornado in Tuscaloosa, and her efforts to involve students in volunteerism.
“I am honored that this award also recognizes the service-learning projects that I do in my public relations classes,” Horsley said. “Through these projects, the students find meaningful ways to use Suzanne Horsley their skills to help address a specific need in the com-
munity. It empowers our students to see that they can use their own professional expertise to help others. “I hope that they take this with them after graduation and keep up the spirit of service in their next community. This is what resiliency is all about – bringing diverse talents together to make a community stronger.” In addition, Horsley was named Educator of the Year by the Southern Public Relations Federation.
Harvill, East named Outstanding Alumni The Department of Advertising and Public Relations annually selects outstanding alumni from professionals working in the advertising and public relations fields. This year’s honorees were William M. (Billy) Harvill and Ellen East. Harvill retired as Chairman of the Intermark Group in March 2011. During his 23 years with Intermark, the Billy Harvell agency grew from 40 employees with gross income of $4 million to more than 160 employees and $16 million in gross income. Harvill graduated from The University of Alabama with a degree in
journalism and from The University of Alabama at Birmingham with a degree in accounting. He served on the Agency Management Committee of the American Association of Advertising Agencies and was chairman of the C&IS Board of Visitors. He was the Birmingham Advertising Federation’s 2005 CEO of The Year and Adman of The Year and the Birmingham Chamber’s 2002 Small Business Person of the Year. He currently serves UAB’s Comprehensive Cancer Center as Income Development Chair and President Elect. Ellen East is Executive Vice President and Chief Communications Officer for Time Warner Cable. She previously served as Vice President, Communications and Public Affairs, for Cox Communications and assistant city editor of
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. East is co-chair of the National Cable & Telecommunications Association’s Public Affairs committee and a member of the boards of the T. Howard Foundation and the Families and Ellen East Work Institute. She has received the 2002 NCTA Vanguard Award for Young Leadership and two Silver Anvil Awards for issues management and integrated communications from the Public Relations Society of America. East graduated from the University of Alabama in 1983 with a bachelor’s degree in news-editorial journalism.
APR students “Get Shaq 2 UA” Former NBA superstar Shaquille O’Neal visited campus in spring 2012 to film a public service announcement with LessThanUThink, a student-run public relations campaign targeted at curbing the nationwide problem of binge drinking on college campuses. Instructor Teri Henley’s campaigns class organized the Twitter campaign that garnered Shaq’s attention. O’Neal is a spokesperson for The Century Council, a key funder of LessThanUThink. The advertising and public relations students facilitated O’Neal’s visit, and a team of TCF students led by Dr. Rachel Raimist recorded and produced the PSA, which can now be viewed at http://bit.ly/UQT20d.
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Communication Studies
Faculty members see publishing success Two members of the Communication Studies faculty have major book projects being released in 2013. Dr. Robin Boylorn, Sweetwater: Black Women and Narratives of Resilience The lives of black women in the rural South have been little-studied, but their stories are compelling in the way they contribute to an understanding of diverse responses to life’s difficulties. In the face of poverty, violence and discrimination, resiliency is central to the human spirit. This is the conclusion Dr. Robin Boylorn draws in her new book, Sweetwater: Black Women and Narratives of Resilience, set to be published by Peter Lang Cover art from Dr. Boylorn’s early this year. Boylorn, an book assistant professor in the Department of Communication Studies, specializes in ethnographic research, a method that studies communities and populations from a cultural perspective. Inspired by her work as an auto-ethnographer, Boylorn chose her own home community and the women who lived there as her subject. In the course of interviews and observations, she unpacked the story of their lives and experiences. The women she focused on ranged in age from mid-20s
to 90, but they shared common experiences. Fathers were mostly absent, and relationships with men were problematic. Their lives were touched by discrimination and poverty, which circumscribed daily life. As for knowledge, “mother wit” (common sense) was more prevalent among them than formal education. What once had been secrets emerged as prevailing truths that described their lives. Boylorn eventually discovered that she was related to most of the women she interviewed, a fact that emphasized her investment in the project. The theoretical grounding for the book considers the way in which the individual life experiences and what these women say about them combine into a narrative or story that reflects the shared experience of these rural AfricanAmerican women. The challenges for Boylorn involved the ethics of opening what had been secretive and the dangers of stereotyping from generalizations. But the outcome provides a picture of rural black women and the resilience they demonstrated as they negotiated their lives and culture. While a Hollywood film might focus on the characters, Boylorn stresses that in ethnographic research the story itself becomes more important than individual characterizations. The story that emerges from Sweetwater: Black Women and Narratives of Resilience will undoubtedly make an important contribution to the study of diversity and rural culture. Dr. Jason Edward Black, An Archive of Hope Harvey Milk was one of the first openly and politically gay public officials in the United States, and his remarkable activism put him at the very heart of a pivotal civil rights movement reshaping America in the 1970s. An Archive of Hope is Milk in his own words, bringing together in one Continued on p. 23
Faculty and student briefs Lambda Pi Eta, the honor society of the Department of Communication Studies, has embarked on an active program to bring together students for various activities, such as a pizza meet and greet in October. One of the most successful enterprises has been the inauguration of a book club. Dr. Beth Bennett led the first discussion of The Hunger Games. The traditional Undergraduate Research Colloquium, orga-
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nized by department faculty, was held Dec. 4. Comm Studies grad students Megan Herboth, Andrew Stone, Kyle Fox and Brittany Finley, who were in Dr. Janis Edwards’ Gender and Political Communication class, contributed a guest essay to the blog Political Denizens. Their topic was presidential candidate spouses. The blog can be found at http://www. augustana.edu/blogs/politicaldenizens/. Dr. Meredith M. Bagley was wed on
August 11, 2012, to Alexandrea Wells Davenport in Mendon, Vt. Bagley grew up in Mendon and was thrilled to conduct a legal wedding in the backyard of her parents’ home. Alex works on campus as the Graduate Assistant Coordinator of the Safe Zone program and will graduate this May with her master’s degree in American Studies. Their golden retriever, Jake, successfully played his part in the ceremony. Congratulations and best wishes!
Hartley named alumna of the year The Department of Communication Studies named Alyce Hartley (B.A., communication, ‘82; M.A., communication, ‘84) its 2012 Outstanding Alumna. For the last 26 years, Hartley has worked with adults and young adults to improve communication and human interaction skills. She spent 12 years as the coach of the University of Alabama
Birmimgham Speech and Debate team and a member of the faculty in UAB’s Department of Communication Studies. Since 1997 she has worked for UAB’s Human Resource Management Alyce Hartley Division of Train-
ing and Development. She is currently manager of professional development programs for UAB and works as an independent communication consultant. Her areas of expertise include public speaking and presentation skills, conflict resolution, interpersonal communication, change management, time management, team building and leadership skills.
Forensic Council wins 19th championship The University of Alabama Forensic Council brought home its 19th national championship by winning first place in the team sweepstakes at the Delta Sigma Rho-Tau Kappa Alpha National Tournament in February. The team won a total of 46 individual awards (listed below) at the tournament. The UA Forensic Council is an undergraduate student team in the College of Communication and Information Sciences, coached by Communication Studies faculty member Robert Imbody. Delta Sigma Rho-Tau Kappa Alpha National Tournament results: Informative speech John Brinkerhoff, 2nd place Katerina Pena, Top Novice Prose Thad Fitzpatrick, 1st place Hannah Fowler, 2nd place Julia Olienyk, 4th place Erika Wade, 6th place Impromptu speech Collin Metcalf, 2nd place Dexter Strong, 3rd place Prog. Oral Interpretation Thad Fitzpatrick, 1st place Julia Olienyk, 3rd place Kelsey Balzli, 4th place Alexandria Smith, 5th place Taylor McDonald, 6th place AC Mitchell, Top Novice Extemporaneous speech Collin Metcalf, 1st place Valerie Walters, 2nd place
Members of the Alabama Forensic Council display the awards won at the DSRTKA National Tournament. Photo courtesy of Bobby Imbody.
Persuasive speech Collin Metcalf, 1st place Kevin Pabst, 2nd place John Brinkerhoff, 3rd place Kelsey Balzli, 4th place Andrea Dobynes, 6th place Clifton Baker, Top Novice Duo Thad Fitzpatrick/Erika Wade, 1st place Erika Wade/Hannah Fowler, 2nd place AC Mitchell/Taylor McDonald, 3rd place After dinner speech Julia Olienyk, 1st place Kevin Pabst, 2nd place Hannah Fowler, 3rd place Cassie Rogers-Buchanan, Top Novice Dramatic interpretation Taylor McDonald, 2nd place
Alexandria Smith, 3rd place Clifton Baker, 4th place Erika Wade, 5th place Katerina Pena, Top Novice Poetry Thad Fitzpatrick, 1st place Alexandria Smith, 2nd place Erika Wade, 5th place Taylor McDonald, 6th place Critical analysis Collin Metcalf, 1st place Hannah Fowler, 3rd place Dexter Strong, 5th place Cassie Rogers-Buchanan, Top Novice Individual sweepstakes (students competing in at least five events) Thad Fitzpatrick, 1st place Collin Metcalf, 2nd place Hannah Fowler, 3rd place Erika Wade, 4th place
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Journalism
Alumni, students win major awards Seven journalism department alumni were honored when the staff of The Tuscaloosa News won the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Reporting for its enterprising coverage of the April 27 tornado. The team was noted for using social media and traditional reporting to provide real-time updates, help locate missing people and produce in-depth print accounts even after power disruption forced the paper to publish at another plant 50 miles away. Honored as part of the team were: Lydia Seabol Avant (M.A., 2004), Michele Lepianka Carter (B.A., 2006), Wayne Grayson (B.A., 2009), Jason Morton (B.A., 1999), Brian Reynolds (B.A., 2008), Aaron Suttles (B.A., 2009) and Stephanie Taylor (B.A., 1999). Recent journalism graduates Taylor Holland, Jonathan Reed, Kelsey Stein and Hannah Mask, working for The Crimson White, won first place nationally for Breaking News Reporting (Four-year College/University category) in the 2011 Society of Professional Alumni notes Michael Albanese (B.A., 2011) is a reporter for the Chronicle-News in Trinidad, Colo., covering government and education. Allyson Angle (B.A., 2010; M.A. 2011) is a sales assistant for Cooking Light, a Time.Inc. publication, in New York. Brian Anderson (M.A., 2011), a reporter at the Anniston Star, won an Associated Press Media Editors award for his work on Bama FactCheck, a political fact-checking website run by a number of prominent Alabama news organizations. Daniel Gaddy (M.A., 2010) played a critical role in starting the site, for which Gaddy won an APME award
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Journalists Mark of Excellence awards for coverage of the April 27 tornado. Senior Tray Smith was a top-three national finalist for editorial writing in this same competition. The Crimson White won numerous awards in the regional 2011 SPJ Mark of Excellence competition. The paper, under the direction of May 2012 journalism graduates Victor
Luckerson (editor) and Jonathan Reed (managing editor), was named Best All-Around Daily Student Newspaper in the 2011 Mark of Excellence regional awards. The Crimson White Online (cw.ua.edu) won second place for Best Affiliated Website. The College Media Matters blog also named Luckerson and The Crimson White to its 2011 College Media Hall of Fame for their tornado coverage. Current journalism students and recent graduates winning regional 2011 SPJ Mark of Excellence awards for work published in The Crimson White included Taylor Holland, Jonathan Reed, Kelsey Stein and Hannah Mask (First Place, Breaking News Reporting); Tray Smith (First Place, Editorial Writing); Erich Hilkert (Second Place, General Column Reporting); Jonathan Reed, Kelsey Stein, Hannah Mask and William Evans (First Place, Feature Writing); Will Tucker, Stephen Nathanial Dethrage, Jonathan Reed and Amanda Sams (Third Place, In-Depth Reporting)
in 2010. Alan Blinder (B.A., 2011) was part of the Associated Press team that won an honorable mention for excellence in deadline reporting from the Associated Press Managing Editors Association for tornado coverage. Blinder is now a reporter for The Washington Examiner. He works with Taylor Holland (B.A., 2012), who also is a reporter at The Washington Examiner, covering Alexandria and Fairfax County, Va. Staci Brooks (B.A., 1999) has been named Alabama Media Group’s Birmingham community hub director. Brooks now oversees the Birmingham reporting team and is responsible for day-to-day operations of the newsroom, producing
content for al.com and its three partner newspapers. Brooke Carbo (M.A., 2012) is news designer/copy editor at The Anniston Star. Sarah Cole (M.A., 2012) is a photographer/videographer at The Huntsville Times. She works with Amethyst Holmes (B.A., 2012), a reporter for the paper. Ana Rodriquez (M.A., 2012) is a reporter at The Birmingham News. Ben Flanagan (M.A., 2010) covers Tuscaloosa for al.com. All four are regular contributors to al.com’s statewide news coverage. Jennifer Cox (M.A., 2008) has completed her Ph.D. from the University of Florida and is now an assistant profes-
Seven graduates of the UA journalism program were part of Pulitzer Prizewinning team at The Tuscaloosa News. Photo courtesy of Jason Morton.
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Journalism Department honors Parsons Marie Parsons (M.A., journalism, ‘89) has been named the Journalism Department’s Outstanding Alumna for 2012. Parsons has been a member of the C&IS journalism community since 1983, when she became an instructor of news reporting and scholastic journalism. She earned her master’s from the department in 1989 and con-
tinued as an instructor until 2002. She remains an instructor emeritus for the department and also serves as a consultant for the Alabama Scholastic Press Association, where she was interim director Marie Parsons in 2007-08.
Parsons also is a mentor for the Journalism Education Association. She has received countless awards for her service, including the Southern Interscholastic Press Association’s Outstanding Service Award in 2012, the JEA’s Medal of Merit in 2011 and the ASPA’s Service Award in 2009. She holds a B.A. in journalism from The University of Minnesota.
JN Department becomes new NESPA home The University of Alabama’s department of journalism became the new home of the National Elementary Schools Press Association in May. The department and NESPA officials announced the official move of the 18-year-old national association from Asheville, N.C., to Tuscaloosa. NESPA, which has more than 750 member schools, helps elementary and middle schools start and improve scholastic media. The organization needed a new home when director Mark Levin retired. The University of Alabama, already home to the Alabama Scholastic Press Association and the Multicultural Journalism Program, was a natural choice. “We are so excited about this move,” said Meredith Cummings, director of scholastic media in the journalism department. “This is a wonderful opportunity to use resources from our department and existing programs to teach young students, both locally and nationally, about writing and the profession of journalism.” The UA journalism department has served Alabama middle schools and high schools for 75 years
UA Director of Scholastic Media Meredith Cummings and former NESPA Director Mark Levin discuss the program with local elementary students. Photo courtesy of Meredith Cummings.
through ASPA but only recently started formal outreach programs at area elementary schools. UA journalism students and faculty have worked with area elementary schools, including the Magnet School, Englewood Elementary, Tuscaloosa Academy and Oakdale Elementary. The department also offers service-learning classes, where college students work with teachers in K-12 journalism classes. “When NESPA approached us, we were thrilled to step in,” said Dr. Jennifer Greer, UA journalism department chair. “This helps us have a national impact and shows
our commitment to the foundations of journalism education at an early age.” Dr. Loy Singleton, dean of the College of Communication and Information Sciences, said, “When people think of scholastic media, they often focus on high schools. NESPA is designed to help support activities in elementary schools and encourage the formation of new programs by sharing ideas and resources.” UA has started a website for the group (www.nespa.ua.edu) and hopes to expand the services the association provides.
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School of Library and Information Studies
Forty years: Cause to celebrate The School of Library and Information Studies celebrated its 40th anniversary in style on Nov. 1, 2012. Faculty, staff, retirees, alumni and friends gathered in Room 503 Gorgas Library for delicious hors d’oeuvres and dinner served at beautifully decorated tables. Students from the UA School of Music played light jazz before dinner, and a video featuring scenes of campus and SLIS life was shown on the large screen throughout the evening. Lists of graduates from the inception of the School to the present day were mounted around the room, and a display featured books published by current SLIS faculty. SLIS Director Dr. Heidi Julien
recognized those who made the evening so successful and a number of special guests. It was a most successful occasion and a fitting introduction to the activities of the following day. The LSA (Library School Association) and SLIS celebrated SLIS Alumni Day on Nov. 2, 2012.
Using the same venue as that used for the anniversary dinner, the occasion featured former Dean of the School, Dr. Philip Turner, whose luncheon address to the group was very well received. A number of sessions were offered for attendees in the morning, followed by lunch and awards.
Alumni news Kathy Craig was awarded a Herman Moore LAMP Award, given annually to Library and Media Professionals for exceptional service to state schools. Stephanie Friree has accepted a position at the UMASS Medical School library where she had been working part-time since an internship in summer 2012. The position is working for the New England Region RML of the NLM, which is run by the director of the UMASS Medical School library. The position is working as an Outreach Coordinator doing training on PubMed and also working on a project called PHIA, which is creating digital libraries for Public Health departments across the U.S. Eight states are on board so far, and they plan to add three more states per year as NLM grant funding allows.
Cindy Huskey, Library Media Specialist at Bob Jones High School, received a $50,000 grant to update the technology in the school’s media center. Emily Gore, SLIS alumna and Associate Dean for Digital Scholarship and Technology at Florida State University, has been appointed the Director of Content for the Digital Public Library of America (DPLA), effective Sept. 1, 2012. She will be responsible for overseeing of the DPLA’s hub infrastructure, including implementation of state and regional digital service hubs as part of the Digital Hubs Pilot Program supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities, as well as for the oversight of content provider relationships with digital library partners throughout the United States. Jeffrey Graveline, SLIS alumnus
and adjunct professor, received the Achievement in Academic Business Librarianship Award from the College and University Business Libraries Section, Special Libraries Association (SLA). He accepted the award at the SLA conference in Chicago last summer, as well as an award for the Sterne Library at the University of Alabama at Birmingham; Graveline’s Business Research Certificate Program received the Springshare Innovation Academic Libraries Award. Melissa McRae, who is library media specialist at Boaz Middle School and a SLIS graduate, will be able to purchase essential solar system resources for the school’s library thanks to a $400 grant from the Boaz City Schools Foundation. A current SLIS student who interned at the School, Cindy Lancaster, together with Katy
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SLIS faculty, staff and alumni mingle during the School’s 40th anniversary celebration in November 2012. Photo courtesy of SLIS.
Continued on p. 23
SLIS honors Distinguished Alumna Kate W. Ragsdale, retired Planning Officer for the University Libraries at The University of Alabama, has been selected to receive the 2012 Distinguished Alumni Award from The University of Alabama’s School of Library and Information Studies (SLIS). During her years on the faculty of University Libraries, Ragsdale proved steadfastly dedicated to excellence of performance, to her institution and to her profession, always ready and sufficiently resilient in spirit to take appropriate initiatives. In professional associations at both state and national levels, Ragsdale has demonstrated leadership by sharing her knowledge and experience through committee work, presentations and publications. Now in retire-
ment, she continues her professional service in a volunteer capacity. She spends considerable time at the Friends of the Library Bookstore of the Kate Ragsdale Tuscaloosa Public Library, where she also serves on the Board of Directors, and is a member of the UA Libraries Leadership Board. She was awarded the Library Leadership Board Faculty Award in 2004. Ragsdale has been a member of several boards, councils and committees, including those of the American Library Association, the Association of College and Research Libraries, the
Library Administration and Management Association, Special Libraries Association, Southeastern Library Association and the Alabama Library Association, serving as an officer when called. Ragsdale earned a bachelor’s degree from Sweet Briar College in Sweet Briar Virginia in 1963. She received the M.L.S. in 1986 from the School of Library and Information Studies at The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa. Each year the Library School Association, representing SLIS alumni, bestows the Distinguished Alumni Award to recognize a SLIS graduate who has made an outstanding contribution to the library, information, media or book arts fields.
SLIS professor consults for Sesame Street The pressing question being asked of Dr. Jamie Naidoo, assistant professor in The University of Alabama’s School of Library and Information Studies, these days is: “Can you tell me how to get to Sesame Street?” And the answer is … yes, he can. Naidoo was contacted in early February by Rocio Galarza, Sesame Street’s senior director of content planning and design for outreach, after she read some of his research and his blog on Latino children’s literature. She “thought I would be able to assist them in their new initiative to reach out to the growing Latino population in the United States,” Naidoo said. Naidoo was one of four expert consultants to the television show who discussed how to incorporate
authentic, accurate portrayals of Latino cultures into the Sesame Street brand’s multiplatform channels. “My specific role was to describe how Latinos are represented in children’s print materials, both positive and negative portrayals, and suggest ideas for including Latino cultural Jamie Naidoo content into their various outlets to go along with their new initiative,” Naidoo said. “I made broad suggestions as well as very specific suggestions on how specific Sesame Street characters could better represent the Latin cultures.” Naidoo’s work with Sesame Street is ongoing. He said the op-
portunity to work with the wellknown brand benefits SLIS and the College of Communication and Information Sciences by demonstrating their commitment to actively engage in children’s media. As for Naidoo himself, the rewards of the work are obvious. “I am passionate about effecting positive social change in the world,” Naidoo said. “The Latino population in the U.S. is rapidly increasing, but our children today, particularly those in Alabama, often encounter negative or stereotypical images of Latinos in media. By working with publishers and TV producers of children’s media to improve their Latino content and appeal to young children, I am providing opportunities for nonLatino children to make intercultural connections with their Latino counterparts.”
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Telecommunication and Film
TCF professor finds success with ‘Eating’ TCF’s Andrew Beck Grace has seen success in the past year in his filming — and ‘eating.’ Grace’s film, “Eating Alabama,” documents his and his wife Rashmi’s attempts to eat an all-local diet and find out more about Grace’s family history. The film has screened at numerous festivals across the United States. It had its world premiere at South by Southwest in Austin, then screened at the Yale Environmental Film Festival, the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival in Durham, N.C., and at the Indie Grits Film Festival in Columbia, S.C., where it won the Grand Jury Prize. It saw its first screening in Alabama at the Sidewalk Film Festival in August 2012, where it was named Best Alabama Film. The film also has aired on Alabama Public Television and is scheduled for national airtime on PBS in 2013. His latest film, “The Durrs of Montgomery,” also aired on
Alabama Public Television last year, and he is working on a post-tornado project called “After the Storm.” Grace has also been busy in the classroom, both at UA and as a guest lecturer at other institutions. He gave a documentary filmmaking workshop to students at Yale and gave a lecture at the “Teaching American
History Conference” last summer at UA about ways in which history teachers might use documentary methods to inspire their students. He also was an invited lecturer at the Auburn Public History Conference in February 2012, presenting “Documentary Storytelling and Public History.”
Alumni news Edith (Hudson) Parten (B.A., ‘86) recently earned Accreditation in Public Relations (APR), the public relations profession’s national post-graduate certification program. Parten, APR, is Public Relations Director and Gulf Coast Regional Director for the Alabama Tourism Department, promoting the state to visitors, travelers and journalists. She has more than five years experience in public relations with 12 years prior experience in television news. Parten also recently published a mobile app that is available on iTunes: The Alabama Civil Rights Trail. Faculty and student briefs Michael Bruce won the Award of
Excellence in Long Form Sports Video at the BEA International Festival of Media Arts with his production of Bedlam Baseball. Bruce was selected as videographer for the Channel 33/40 James Spann Weather Show in Tuscaloosa; his footage was included in the award-winning video “Tornado Emergency: Saving Lives.” He was also selected as a Faculty Fellow for the Warner Brothers Research Symposium in Los Angeles. Dwight Cammeron’s documentary, April’s Hero, screened at the Texas Black Film Festival in Dallas, the Jubilee Film Festival in Selma, Ala., and at the North Carolina Black Film Festival in Wilmington, N.C. Chandra Clark won the Best of
Competition in Promotional Video at the BEA International Festival of Media Arts with “Tornado Emergency: Saving Lives.” The long-form version, produced in conjunction with the National Association of Broadcasters, will be presented to Congress. Dr. Clark also had two videos place as finalists in The National Broadcasting Society/Alpha Epsilon Rho’s professional production competition. “Distracted Driving: Texting Course” and “Distracted Driving: Drunk Goggles” were both exhibited at the national convention in New York City. Nick Corrao’s film “Come On Down and Pick Me Up” was selected for The Big Sky Documentary Festival in Missoula, Mont. The film also screened at
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Grace and wife Rashmi eating locally grown salad in a still from “Eating Alabama.” Photo courtesy of Andrew Grace.
Continued on p. 22
Brooks selected TCF Outstanding Alumna The Department of Telecommunication and Film selected Lynn Brooks (B.A., ‘98) its 2012 Outstanding Alumna. Brooks is News Director and News Anchor for WVUA-TV, the University of Alabama-owned commercial television station in the Birmingham market. After being hired as a news reporter upon her graduation from the
University, she worked her way up the ranks and, in 2003, became the youngest News Director in the state. The Associated Press has awarded WVUA as “Most Outstanding News Operation” four Lynn Brooks
times under her leadership, and she personally has received “Best Spot News Story” and “Best Reporter” awards from the Associated Press. Under her leadership, WVUA-TV has developed the largest broadcast news intern program in America. The city of Tuscaloosa has recognized her accomplishments by declaring Sept. 20 as “Lynn Brooks Day.”
Students gain experience with ESPN Few people would turn down the chance to have something they helped produce aired on one of ESPN’s networks. For three current College of Communication and Information Sciences students, ESPN airtime isn’t a dream – it’s reality, through ESPNU’s Campus Connection program. “I got started with ESPNU in 2010 when I participated in a Campus Connection broadcast, which is where they travel to a select game and let students shadow the broadcast and get involved,” said Christopher Robinson, a senior majoring in telecommunication and film with an emphasis in sports broadcasting. “It was such a great experience to see what all goes into a broadcast and how complex it is. It’s really amazing when you see it all happening live.” TCF professor Michael Bruce, also a fellow with the new University of Alabama Program in Sports Communication, said Campus Connection provides students a chance to volunteer for assignments far beyond the scope of what they might be able to do in a classroom setting. “Last year we had a student reporter who covered the national championship game and interviewed players in
TCF students Annie Bates, Christopher Robinson and Rebecca Cade were given the opportunity to participate in filming programming for ESPN’s family of networks and websites through ESPNU’s Campus Connection program. Photo by Matthew Wood/University of Alabama Photography.
the locker room after the game,” Bruce said. “There have been feature stories on Big Al. Also, as part of its contract with the SEC, ESPNU has to broadcast one Campus Connection game from each SEC university during the course of the year. Last year it was a basketball game, and we had 12 TCF students who were involved in the production of that game.”
Annie Bates, a senior majoring in TCF and minoring in computer science and creative writing, said she doesn’t mind the extra work and busier schedule created by her involvement with Campus Connection because the work is so exciting. “I get to attend every home game and press conference so every day is Continued on p. 22
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Advertising and Public Relations, cont. from p. 10 Jessica Carlton of Huntsville won UA’s first-ever Case Study Grand Prize, and Carleton Rafield of Birmingham took third place in the communication division. The nationwide competition attracts 60-80 entries annually from master’s and doctoral students studying business or communication. Students from Dr. Glenn Griffin’s APR 418 class won a total of 14 ADDY awards from the American Ad Federation - Tuscaloosa. Student winners included Lauren Aylworth (Student Best of Show, Student Gold ADDY, Student Silver ADDY); Courtney Brennan, Heather Driskell, Chase Bryan (Student Gold ADDY); Cori Powell, Abby Jay, Georgia Nolen, Blake Moran, Ben Gordon and Ashley Milhollin (Student Silver ADDY). APR students in Susan Daria’s APR 419 service learning class raised $5,585
for Secret Meals For Hungry Children, a program in area schools that discreetly provides impoverished school children with packets of food for the weekend. The students assisted Secret Meals with the design and implementation of awareness materials and events. Literacy Is The Edge, a student advocacy group dedicated to ending functional illiteracy in West Alabama, raised more than $4,000 in its 2011 campaign “Empower Literacy,” aimed to raise awareness about functional illiteracy problems in West Alabama, recruit reading tutors, produce communication materials and raise funds for the Literacy Council of West Alabama. UA’s Ad Team, made up of 19 APR students and one graphic design student, placed second among 152 colleges and universities at the American Advertising
Federation’s National Student Advertising Competition. The team presented a campaign for Nissan North America. APR Instructor Tracy Sims is 2012 president for the West Alabama chapter of the Public Relations Council of Alabama. Sims also was named a fellow for the Plank Center for Leadership in Public Relations. Faculty member Meg Lamme mentored freshman Francie Johnson in the UA Emerging Scholars Program. She presented a poster on her history research project, “Elbert Hubbard: A Different Take on Corporate Public Relations,” at the UA Undergraduate Research & Creativity Conference. Three student teams from Lamme’s APR 570 class received a total four first-place awards in the 2012 PRCA Student Medallion Awards.
Journalism, cont. from p. 14 sor of journalism at Salisbury University in Maryland. Her husband, Jeremy Cox (M.A., 2008) is the student newspaper adviser at the university and a reporter for The Daily Times. Kellie Gentry (B.A., 2012) is a regional coordinator with Birminghambased Impact Alabama: A Student Service Initiative. Ashley Johnson (B.A., 2012) and Katie Wood (B.A., 2011; M.A., 2012) are reporters at The Selma TimesJournal. Matthew Cole (B.A., 2012) and Brittney Knox (B.A., 2012) are general assignment reporters at the Demopolis Times. Victor Luckerson (B.A., 2012) was hired as a reporter-producer position with TIME magazine’s Time.com. Luckerson served for two years as the editor in chief of The Crimson White, which received a Gold Crown award, the highest honor given by the Columbia Scholastic Press Association. Adrian Morris (B.A., 2011) is now an assistant language teacher in Tuscaloosa’s sister city, Narashino, Japan. Jonathan McElvy (B.A., 1997) and McElvy Media, LLC have purchased
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the Leader, a Texas newspaper serving Houston Heights, Garden Oaks, Oak Forest and adjacent communities. He is the president and publisher of The Leader. John McWilliams (B.A., 2012) is a sports reporter at the Forsyth County News in Cumming, Ga. Scott Parrott (M.A., 2010) joined the UA Department of Journalism faculty as an instructor teaching advanced newswriting and reporting and other classes. Parrott is helping redesign Dateline Alabama, a student-produced local news site. Christi Parsons (B.A., 1989) has been elected to a three-year term in leadership of the White House Correspondents’ Association. Starting in August, Parsons will serve a year on the group’s board, another year as vice president and the third year as president. In the spring of 2015, she will be in charge of the association’s annual dinner. Marie Parsons, (M.A., 1989) Alabama Scholastic Press Association Emeritus Director, received the 2012 Southern Interscholastic Press Association’s Outstanding Service Award in
recognition for her extraordinary contribution to scholastic journalism. Also in 2012, she was given the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Journalism Education Association. Gheni Platenburg (M.A., 2009) was accepted into Louisiana State University’s Media and Public Affairs doctoral program. Platenburg also was awarded the Huel D. Perkins Diversity Fellowship. Sydney Prather (B.A., 2010) is the marketing and sales manager for Industrial Power Savers. She also owns and is the lead photographer of Crowded Elevator Photography. Sudie Redmond (B.A., 1979), former deputy editor of Oprah Magazine, has been named editor in chief of Glamour magazine. Jonathan Reed (B.A, 2012) and Kelsey Stein (B.A., 2011) are copy editors at The Augusta (Ga.,) Chronicle. Julia H. Segars (B.A., 1984) was named the recipient of the Girl Scouts of North-Central 2012 Frances E. Couch Award, an award given to outstanding women who embody unselfish leadership, are committed to community service in East Alabama and exemplify the ideals of Girl Scouting.
Student news Three journalism majors placed nationally in the 2011-12 Hearst Journalism Awards Competition. Senior Stephen Nathanial Dethrage placed fifth in Personality/Profile Writing and received a $1,000 scholarship. May 2012 graduate Katherine Martin took seventh place in that same competition for an article from Alpine Living. May 2012 graduate Jonathan Reed placed seventh in Heart’s Multimedia Journalism competition for work published on Dateline Alabama. Reed was a finalist in the Hearst National Multimedia Championship in June 2012 in San Francisco. At the Southeastern Journalism Conference in January 2012, senior Tray Smith won first place for editorial writing and senior Marquavius Burnett won first place for magazine writing. The University of Alabama Society of Professional Journalists chapter won the Outstanding Campus Chapter Award for the Southeastern Region in both 2011 and 2012. The honors recognize the concerted drive to increase membership and the chapter’s innovative campus programming and community outreach activities were cited for excellence. The SPJ chapter also was given “The Innovative Campus Program” award by the University’s SOURCE Awards, which honor registered student organizations. The recognition was for the SPJ-sponsored the “First Amendment Free Food Festival” in March, a campus-wide event to raise awareness about the importance of First Amendment freedoms. Students in a service-learning course, MC 413 Communication and Diversity, produced media products such as newsletters, magazines and videos for five community partners: Alabama’s Office of Minority Health, Temporary Emergency Services, Al’s Pals AfterSchool Program, the Tuscaloosa One Place Family Resource Center and DASH Magazine, based in Bessemer. Senior Haley Herfurth presented a paper, “Superman vs. Superman: The juxtaposed Clarks of Smallville and It’s Superman!”, at the 33rd International Conference on the Fantastic in the Arts
in March 2012 in Orlando. May 2012 graduate Amethyst Holmes was honored for her work in the community by being named to the Southeastern Conference Community Service Team two years in a row. The SEC named her to its 2012 squad for her work in UA Athletic Department initiatives including Project Angel Tree, Spring Fling Extravaganza, Power of Pink and mentoring girls at Westlawn Middle School. She also aided in recovery and rebuilding efforts following the April 27 tornado and has served as a PLUS Literacy Program tutor. Three journalism majors had bylines in leading national sports publications in the 2011-2012 school year. May 2012 graduate Victor Luckerson interned at Sports Illustrated in New York and was the only intern to have a bylined piece in the print version of the magazine. May 2012 graduate Tony Tsoukalas wrote a column on the Alabama-Auburn rivalry for the national sports blog Grantland. com, a blog on ESPN.com. Senior Marquavius Burnett had multiple columns published in the sports section (print and online) of The New York Times. Senior Laura Metcalf was the moderator for a special Community Conversation on Poverty, sponsored by the Alabama Poverty Project on campus in April. The Community Conversation Metcalf moderated was one of the series’ largest events to date. Senior Kristi Randle was selected for the 2012-13 McNair Scholars program. Randle, working under the direction of Department Chair Jennifer Greer, completed a study on racial framing in campus newspapers. She presented her study at the Fall 2012 McNair research conference at UA and at a diversity conference in Auburn in November. Senior Sydney Branch, a dual major in journalism and economics, also was selected and worked under the direction of three faculty members in the College of Business. Senior Amanda Sams, president of UA’s Society of Professional Journalists chapter, was selected as a Scripps Leadership Fellow and attended a June 2012 intensive leadership training ses-
sion in Indianapolis. Five graduate students from Dianne Bragg’s JN 563 History of Journalism and the First Amendment course were selected to present papers at the Southeast Symposium of the American Journalism Historians Association in Panama City, Fla., in February 2012. One student, Jamie Cole, received the Best Graduate Student Paper award. Other students who presented were Meredith Qualls, Charles Watkins, Ana Rodriguez and Justin Blankenship. Cole’s and Blankenship’s papers were also selected for presentation at the AJHA Annual Convention in Raleigh, N.C. in October, where Cole’s paper won a Top Student Paper Award. May 2012 master’s graduate Tyler Jones found his name in the masthead of Columbia Journalism Review, the nation’s premier journalism industry publication, after he regularly published stories for the magazine in 2011 and 2012. Faculty notes Kim Bissell, Southern Progress Endowed Professor, is working with students in her International Journalism class on the fifth issue of Alpine Living. She is traveling with 23 students to Spain and Portugal in March 2013 Dianne Bragg, Instructor, was elected to the board of directors of the American Journalism Historians Association. Rick Bragg, Cason Professor of Writing, was the recipient of the 2012 Last Lecture Award at UA. Bragg was chosen by a campus-wide student panel from more than 250 nominated professors. His April 2012 lecture was titled “So People Won’t Forget.” Chip Brantley, Lecturer in Emerging Media, was recognized by the UA Emerging Scholars program for mentoring undergraduate student Anna Taylor to a second-place humanities division research award. Matthew D. Bunker, Reese Phifer Professor of Journalism, was awarded the top paper in the Law and Policy Division at the Broadcast Education Association’s annual convention.
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Meredith Cummings, Director of Scholastic Media, was named executive director of the National Elementary Schools Press Association. George L. Daniels, Associate Professor, was selected as a fellow to the Scripps Howard Journalism Entrepreneurship Institute in January 2013. Daniels also was elected to a second two-year term as campus adviser atlarge for the national board of directors of the 8,000-member Society of Professional Journalists and was appointed to serve on the Board of Directors for the Sigma Delta Chi Foundation. Daniels
graduated in May 2012 as one of 40 members of the 29th class of Leadership Tuscaloosa. Jennifer Greer, Department Chair, won the college’s two highest annual teaching awards in Spring 2012: the Board of Visitors Teaching Excellence Award and Kappa Tau Alpha’s Commitment to Teaching Award. Greer also was chosen as one of 46 faculty and administrators from Southeastern Conference universities for the 2012-2013 Academic Leadership Development Program. Wilson Lowrey, Graduate Coordinator, has been promoted to full professor
effective August 2012. He is co-author of Media Management: A Casebook Approach, a new book on media management and economics. Dan Meissner, Instructor, continued his work as chairman of the Tuscaloosa City Board of Education. In that role, he’s assisting in rebuilding destroyed and damaged area schools working with city, county and state officials. Chris Roberts, Assistant Professor, served as head of the Newspaper and Online News Division, the second-largest division of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication.
Students gain experience with ESPN, cont. from p. 19 pretty fun for me,” Bates said. “I think ESPNU is a great way to make connections for my future as well as have access to Alabama sports when I work on projects.” UA students have had the chance to be involved with ESPNU’s Campus Connection since 2008, which is when the program began. Bruce said for some students, the opportunities afforded them through Campus Connection allowed them to network and find fulltime jobs after college.
Senior TCF major Rebecca Cade said she hopes this will hold true for her. “Campus Connection gave me the opportunity to work with other college students, as well as independently, about sports on campus,” said Cade, whose emphasis is in sports broadcasting. “I’ve learned to be creative, produce stories and made many great contacts, and I’ve also gained field experience I would not have gotten had I not done Campus Connection. I think employers are looking for all those qualities in a
job candidate.” Bruce said C&IS students’ involvement with Campus Connection has provided an “opportunity to show Alabama constituents in the world the commitment the College has made to advancing research and teaching in sports broadcasting.” For more information about sports communication-related research and projects at UA, visit The University of Alabama Program in Sports Communication website, sportscom.ua.edu.
Telecommunication and Film briefs, cont. from p. 18 the George Lindsey UNA Film Festival, where it won Best Student Shot Documentary and a Jury Award for Best Score. Additionally, a video produced by Professor Corrao’s class was a finalist for the 2012 College Sports Media Awards. “Marion Powell, Crimsonette Instructor” was one of five finalists for the Special Feature, Collegiate Student Division. Adam Schwartz won the Award of Excellence for Narrative film in BEA’s International Festival of Media Arts with his short film “Barney and the Martians,” which also won second place in the UFVA Juried Film Competition in the Narrative Short Film category. Additionally, a film produced by Schwartz’s advanced television pilot class, “ReCommitted,” was selected for screening at the International Television Festival in Los Angeles and at the New York Television Festival’s Independent Pilot competition. Pam Tran won Best of Competition
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in the Audio News division of the BEA International Festival of Media Arts for “Family Business Start Up in Tough Economy.” Dr. Tran also wrote a feature article for the RTDNA Communicator, “Tuscaloosa Tornadoes Provide Historic News Lessons,” that received national recognition. “The Chief,” a Documenting Justice film produced by students Mary Baschab and Chris Scott, won Best Alabama Film at the 2011 Sidewalk Film Festival. Documenting Justice is taught by TCF faculty member Andy Grace. Bradley Whittington was awarded a national Mark of Excellence by the Society of Professional Journalists in the Television Breaking News Reporting category for his submission, “Tuscaloosa Tornado.” Only one national award is given by SPJ in each reporting category. Three TCF Electronic News students received Region 3 Mark of Excellence Awards from the Society of Professional Journalists. Dominique Bivins won
for Radio News Reporting, Whittington won for Television Breaking News, and Matt McCoy won for Television General News Reporting. A documentary about Alabama activist Lilly Ledbetter, “Never Got a Dime,” was selected for screening at the Workers Unite Film Festival in New York City. The film was produced and directed by TCF student Shelby Hadden. Two TCF student films were selected to screen at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival. “Through the Valley,” by Connor Simpson and Carlos Estrada, and “Miss Peabody is Dead,” by Hamilton Henson, were screened at the May 2012 Festival in France. Two student projects received awards at the Sidewalk Film Festival: Best Student Short: Mary Sellers Shaw and Carlos Estrada – “Undocumented” (Faculty supervisor: Andy Grace) Honorable Mention, Documentary Short: Shelby Hadden - “Never Got A Dime” (Faculty supervisor: Dwight Cammeron).
SLIS, cont. from p. 16 Pate and Jana Watts, wrote the winning grant proposal as an assignment for Dr. Gordy Coleman’s class, LS 532. Rachel Fleming-May, former faculty member in SLIS and an alumna of the PhD program at UA, was awarded the College of Communication and Information Faculty Teaching Award for 20112012 at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. The award was presented to Rachel in a ceremony on April 23, 2012. Marcia Barrett, Associate Professor and Special Collections Cataloger in the University Libraries, and a 1993 graduate and adjunct professor of SLIS, moved to California at the end of September to take the position of Head of Technical Services at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Katie McMillan Huffman, who has held the position of Reference and Adult Services Librarian at the Wilmington Memorial Library since 2008, has been hired as the Director of the Gleason Public Library in Carlisle, Mass. Laura Gricius-West, who has worked as a cataloging assistant for 20 years at St Anselm’s College in Manchester, New Hampshire, has been hired into the new position of E-Resources Librarian
at that library. Adelia Grabowski is the new Health Sciences Reference Librarian at Auburn University. Dorothy Smith has accepted the position of Public Services Librarian at the University of Mobile in Alabama. Congratulations to Vanjury Dozier, a May 2012 SLIS graduate, who has been hired at Stillman College in Tuscaloosa as the new Technical Services Librarian. Robert L Burgess, a recent SLIS graduate, has accepted the position of Head of Acquisitions at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City, Missouri. Faculty and student news Associate Professor Steven MacCall served as an instrumental partner in the development of the Tuscaloosa Area Virtual Museum and was named a faculty fellow for The University of Alabama Program in Sports Communication. Professor Elizabeth Aversa was appointed to the prestigious Marie Drolet Bristol-EBSCO Endowed Professorship in the School of Library & Information Studies. She was also appointed to the American Library Association Committee on Accreditation (COA).
Anna Embree, Associate Professor in Book Arts, was selected for the Guild of Book Workers 2012-2014 traveling exhibition: Horizon for her handmade book “Voyage Along the Horizon”. Melissa Johnston, Assistant Professor, was welcomed to the School in August. Dr. Johnston is taking a leadership role in preparing students for practice in the area of School Library Media. Steve Miller was elected President of the University of Alabama Faculty Senate, where his leadership is energizing faculty across campus. Jamie Naidoo was named the Dia Dynamo for 2012, for significant contribution to the advancement and promotion of El día de los niños/El día de los libros (Children’s Day/Book Day). He also was elected to the Board of Directors of the Association for Library Services to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association. Lance Simpson — multi-talented student working as co-PI on a diversity grant project funded by the American Library Association — works part-time for the Tuscaloosa Public Library and is a fellow in the Project ALFA grant program.
Faculty members see publishing success, cont. from p. 12 volume a substantial collection of his speeches, columns, editorials, political campaign materials, open letters, and press releases, culled from public archives, newspapers, and personal collections. The volume opens with a foreword from Milk’s friend, political advisor, and speech writer Frank Robinson, who remembers the man who “started as a Goldwater Republican and ended his life as the last of the store front politicians” who aimed to “give ‘em hope” in his speeches. An illuminating introduction traces GLBTQ politics in San Francisco, situates Milk within that context, and elaborates the significance of his discourse and memories both to 1970s-era gay rights efforts and contemporary GLBTQ worldmaking. An Archive of Hope assembles in one volume a substantial collection
of Harvey Milk’s speeches, columns, editorials, political campaign materials, open letters, and press releases, culled from public archives, newspapers, and personal collections. Most of these texts have not circulated since Milk published, distributed, or delivered them during his brief but Jason Edward transformative caBlack reer in mainstream politics and gay rights activism. A key figure in larger GLBTQ histories, Milk has enjoyed resurgence in today’s public memory, though few know the rich details of his story and even fewer have encountered his public discourse. This volume contributes to the presence of Milk’s
rhetoric and to the important memory work during a period when diverse GLBTQ pasts and presents matter more than ever, matter to the futures we might together forge. Part of this important work includes Milk’s words and the stories we publicly tell about them. Dr. Jason Edward Black (Ph.D. Maryland) is an associate professor in Communication Studies and an affiliate professor in Gender & Race Studies, as well as being the assistant dean for undergraduate student services in the College of Communication and Information Sciences. His research program and teaching areas are located at the juncture of rhetorical studies and social change, with an emphasis on American Indian resistance, GLBTQ community discourses and Black liberation.
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