UA’s College of C&IS Wins National Diversity Awards

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The University of Alabama’s College of Communication and Information Sciences and its chief diversity officer were recognized as the best in the nation for work in recruitment of students and faculty and promoting inclusion.

The Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication Equity and Diversity Award recognizes academic units that are working toward and have attained measurable success.

The selection committee identified C&IS as a unit that displayed progress and innovation in racial, gender and ethnic equality and diversity during the previous three years.

AEJMC is the leading organization for journalism and mass communication education in the United States.

“This award reflects the dedication of our College to providing the finest education in communication and information studies to all students,” said Dr. Mark D. Nelson, dean of C&IS. “We believe in the importance of equality and diversity and are honored to have our efforts recognized at this level.”

The College was one of 14 journalism and mass communication units nominated this year, the same year its chief diversity officer, Dr. George L. Daniels, assistant dean for administration, was selected to receive a separate award for diversity recruitment.

Daniels is the 2015 winner of the Robert P. Knight Multicultural Recruitment award, which recognizes an individual or organization that has made significant contributions to promoting diversity in high school or middle school media programs.

“It speaks volumes that our College is being recognized twice in the same year for our outstanding work in this area, one that has required a sustained effort that really began long before I arrived,” said Daniels, who has been a faculty member in journalism since 2003. “We still have a lot of work to do in diversifying our faculty, staff and students, but it’s nice to get an endorsement from our colleagues around the country.”

The University of Alabama is only the second school in the Southeastern Conference to receive the Equity and Diversity Award. UA is the only school in the nation to have three faculty members receive the Knight Award. Two previous recipients were Dr. Ed Mullins, former dean of C&IS, and Marie Parsons, former director of the Alabama Scholastic Press Association.

Both the 2015 AEJMC Equity and Diversity Award and the Robert P. Knight Multicultural Recruitment Award will be presented at the AEJMC Annual Conference in San Francisco in August.