The University of Georgia Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication will welcome six industry leaders to its Grady Fellowship when it celebrates All Fellows Day on Nov. 15.
Established in 2008 to honor those whose influence, achievements and service to the media professions have enhanced the reputation of the Grady College, the fifth annual class includes Glen Finland, McLean, Va.; Henry Grady III, Atlanta; Jeff Jowdy, Franklin, Tenn.; Tim Mapes, Atlanta; Greg McGarity, Athens; and Horace Newcomb, Athens.
“Our 2012 inductees have one thing in common: they all understand how to tell the story of an organization, whether it is in academia, athletics, journalism, business, public relations or entrepreneurship,” said E. Culpepper Clark, dean of the Grady College. “As we celebrate ‘The Year of the Story,’ we are pleased to recognize these esteemed alumni and friends whose stories and achievements embody Grady ideals. We are honored to receive them into the fellowship.”
The evening-which also will feature a special tribute to the memory of late Grady Fellows Don Perry, Conrad Fink, Gene Methvin and Otis Brumby-will cap off All Fellows Day. Earlier in the day, four Grady alumni and writers will celebrate “The Year of the Story” by sharing insights on recently published books covering a variety of topics. The event will be open to the public and held at noon in UGA’s Richard B. Russell Building Special Collections Libraries.
Finland (A.B.J. ’74) is the author of the acclaimed family memoir Next Stop and a prominent autism advocate. A former TV news reporter, she is a freelance writer for multiple publications, including The Washington Post and Family Circle.
Grady (B.B.A. ’84) has more than 25 years of experience in the banking and capital markets industries. A fifth-generation grandson of the college’s namesake, Grady is the managing director for healthcare investment at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey.
Jowdy (A.B.J. ’83) is the founder and president of Lighthouse Counsel, which provides fundraising counsel and strategic support to not-for-profit organizations. A member of the UGA Alumni Association Board of Directors and the Grady Board of Trust, he has more than 20 years of experience working with not-for-profits and philanthropic organizations.
Mapes (A.B.J. ’86) is the senior vice president of marketing for Delta Air Lines. He was named one of marketing’s “Top 10 Innovative Thinkers” by Advertising Age, and in 2007, he earned the inaugural Dean’s Medal for leadership excellence in communication. Mapes is a past chair of the Grady Board of Trust.
McGarity (A.B.J. ’76) is the director of athletics at UGA, presiding over 21 sports in one of the nation’s leading athletic programs. He spent 18 years working in a variety of leadership roles at the University of Florida prior to coming to Athens. He also is a member of the NCAA Division I Football Issues Committee.
Newcomb is the Lambdin Kay Chair for the Peabody’s and serves as the director of the George Foster Peabody Awards. A member of the Grady College’s telecommunications faculty, Newcomb is a writer of television critiques and history. He was the primary editor of the renowned Encyclopedia of Television, a project of the Museum of Broadcast Communications.
“This class is comprised of six individuals who already have garnered ample honors throughout their professional careers, but their service and passion compels us to recognize the role their stories play in the greater narrative of the Grady College,” said Clark. “In the fifth year of this prestigious fellowship, the induction of this new class enables us to formally recognize the bonds of respect, friendship and affection that we share with them.”
The Grady Fellowship Tribute Evening V induction ceremony will be held at the UGA Hotel and Conference Center at the Georgia Center as part of the broader festivities surrounding Grady College’s All Fellows Day. The tribute gala begins with a 6 p.m. reception, and the dinner ceremony will follow at 7 p.m. Tickets for the tribute are $75 and can be purchased at www.grady.uga.edu/tribute.
Continuing with the Grady College’s “Year of the Story” theme, All Fellows Day also will include multiple spotlights of prominent Grady writers. During the tribute gala, journalist and author Chris Dixon (A.B.J. ’89 and M.A. ’92) will share insights from his acclaimed book Ghost Wave: The Story of the Cortes Bank and the Biggest Wave on Earth. The founding online editor of Surfer, Dixon has written for various publications, including The New York Times, Outside and Men’s Journal.
The four Grady authors presenting at the earlier event include Finland and Dixon, as well as ESPN.com college football writer Mark Schlabach (A.B.J. ’96), the author of a biography on John Heisman, and Steve Sears (ABJ ’90), senior editor and columnist with Barron’s and the author of The Indomitable Investor: Why a Few Succeed in the Stock Market When Everyone Else Fails. They will discuss their writing processes and the art and power of storytelling in the panel discussion.
Two Grady faculty members-Valerie Boyd, the Charlayne Hunter-Gault Distinguished Writer-in-Residence, and Vicki Michaelis, the Carmical Distinguished Professor of Sports Journalism-will moderate the panel.
UGA Grady College
Established in 1915, the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication offers undergraduate majors in advertising, public relations, journalism, digital and broadcast journalism, and mass media arts. The college offers two graduate degrees and is home to the New Media Institute and the Peabody Awards, internationally recognized as one of the most prestigious prizes for excellence in electronic media. For more information, see www.grady.uga.edu or follow the Grady College on Facebook and @UGAGrady on Twitter.