Athens, Ga. – E. Culpepper Clark, dean of the University of Georgia Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication, was honored for his contributions to Alabama’s “Realizing the Dream” initiative in a banquet ceremony in Tuscaloosa on Friday, Jan. 16.
The ceremony was co-hosted by the Realizing the Dream program and the local chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.
Clark, a civil rights historian and former dean of the University of Alabama College of Communication and Information Sciences, was instrumental in the development of the Realizing the Dream program and was honored with a Sustaining the Dream Award.
The Realizing the Dream initiative began in 1990 at the University of Alabama to celebrate the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Friday evening’s banquet recognized founders of the Realizing the Dream effort, community leaders and others and commenced a weekend of events including the 20th annual Realizing the Dream Concert.
The Martin Luther King, Jr. Realizing the Dream Committee is comprised of faculty and staff from Shelton State Community College, Stillman College and the University of Alabama. The committee coordinates a concert around King’s birthday at UA, a theatrical presentation during Black History Month at Shelton State, and an annual lecture series led by Stillman College.
Also receiving Sustaining the Dream Awards were Mercedes Benz U.S. International and the First Missionary Baptist Church of Anniston, Ala.
Established in 1915, the UGA Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication offers seven undergraduate majors including advertising, broadcast news, magazines, newspapers, public relations, publication management and telecommunication arts. The college offers two graduate degrees, and is home to WNEG-TV, the Knight Chair in Health and Medical Journalism 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.