2024 faculty and staff award recipients announced
2024 faculty and staff award recipients announced
Grady College is proud to announce the recipients of the Diversity and Inclusion Advocacy Award, the Darwin Davis Award, the Vera Penn Staff Award for Excellence and the Teacher of the Year awards.
Diversity and Inclusion Advocacy Award
Below are the recipients of this year’s Diversity and Inclusion Award. Both winners, at the graduate student and faculty level, will receive a $1,000 stipend toward work travel or a diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) project or research.
- Melissa Kennedy, graduate student, AdPR
Kennedy, a master’s student, has received this honor for her work in how influencer sexualization and body size impacts the body image and consumer outcomes for Black women. Her career goals include focusing on digital advertising while working to increase representation in the field.
- Keith Wilson, faculty, EMST
As a teacher, filmmaker and artist, Wilson, an assistant professor in Entertainment and Media Studies, has embraced critical perspectives and deep collaborations to create work that questions, that tweaks and that seeks new paradigms. His classes encourage equity.
“In my teaching and in my filmmaking practices, I believe the microphone must be passed to those whose stories have for too long remained untold,” said Wilson.
Darwin Davis Award
Below is the recipient of the 2024 Darwin Davis Award. The Darwin Davis Award was established in 2007 to recognize a member of the Grady College faculty or staff whose performance reflects those qualities of dedication and friendship that best capture the College’s “spirit.” The award is named for Arthur B. Darwin and Harold E. Davis, notable alumni of Grady College.
- Sarah Freeman (MA ‘20), director of communication
“It wouldn’t be a stretch to say that Sarah makes Grady College better in many tangible ways,” Freeman’s nominator wrote. “You could remove all the aspects of her job (social media strategy, content creation, event facilitation, meeting participation and analysis to name a few) and she could still be credited for elevating the quality of our individual departments and the college because of her kindness and generosity.”
Vera Penn Staff Award for Excellence
Below is the recipient of the 2024 Vera Penn Staff Award for Excellence. The award is presented annually to the individual who exhibits outstanding characteristics in performance of duties.
- Cheryl Christopher, administrative associate, EMST
Christopher is considered by her peers at Grady College to be an outstanding example for others and represents Grady College in a positive manner.
Teachers of the Year
Teachers of the Year are annually selected by their peers based on excellence in the classroom and student feedback. The teachers of the year for the 2023-2024 academic year are listed below.
- Laurena Bernabo, assistant professor, EMST
Bernabo has taught undergraduate courses in global and domestic media industries and representations. She is also a faculty member on the Grady in Los Angeles Field Study and Internship program. Her primary research focus is global television flows, with an emphasis on translation.
- Andrea Hudson, lecturer, Journalism
Hudson (PhD ’21) has taught a variety of journalism classes, including photojournalism and reporting and writing across platforms. Her research is grounded in women’s studies and visual communication.
- Kim Landrum, senior lecturer, Public Relations
Landrum has taught Social Media Content and Production, Integrated AdPR Campaigns, and Podcast Branding and Production, among other courses, at Grady College. She is also the director for the Summer Studio Creative Portfolio Program and the faculty advisor for the UGA chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA).
- Brian Trude, lecturer, Advertising
Trude (PhD ‘22) has taught primarily advertising strategy and management courses, specializing in digital media. He has also taught courses in ethics and culture, social media analytics and research methods. His research interest is on the utilization and evolution of new and emergent forms of media and how the changing uses of media affect society and the world at large, along with the people who use media every day.
Author: Jackson Schroeder, Jackson.Schroeder@uga.edu