Henry W. Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication

History

In 1915, Grady was founded as a school of journalism by Steadman Vincent Sanford, a young professor who later as president (1932–35) and chancellor (1935–45) of the University System of Georgia, was the architect of the modern University of Georgia. Classes were first held in the Academic Building near the university's iconic Arch just off Broad Street. Early courses included newspaper reporting and correspondence, editorial writing, history and principles of journalism, psychology of business procedure and newspaper advertising. In 1921, the school's name was changed to the Henry W. Grady School of Journalism in honor of university alumnus Henry W. Grady, an Athens native who argued for the need for white supremacy in the post–Civil War South, who helped reintegrate the states of the Confederacy into the Union after the American Civil War, and who served as part-owner and managing editor of the Atlanta Constitution in the 1880s.

Grady's first graduate, in 1921, Lamar Trotti, became a producer of major motion pictures for 20th Century Fox. He received an Academy Award for Writing Original Screenplay in 1945 for Wilson. The second graduate, in 1922, John Eldridge Drewry, became the school's longest serving director and dean (1932–69), and created a national reputation for the school. In 1940, Drewry established the George Foster Peabody Awards to address the fact that Columbia University, home of the Pulitzer Prize, did not accept radio broadcast entries (Peabody Awards for television were introduced in 1948 and categories for material distributed via the World Wide Web were added in the 1990s). By 1929, enrollment at Grady, which had moved into the south wing of the Commerce-Journalism Building the previous year, was nearly 70 students and included 20 women who graduated with bachelor's degrees in journalism. A master's degree program was authorized in 1938.

In 1961, Charlayne Hunter-Gault, along with Hamilton E. Holmes, became the first two African-American students to desegregate the University of Georgia. In 1963, Hunter-Gault graduated with a journalism degree from Grady and went on to a notable career in multimedia news reporting. The current Journalism Building located just north of Sanford Stadium was dedicated in 1969. A doctoral program was established in 1983. Two years later, the James M. Cox Jr. Center for International Mass Communication Training and Research began operations and has since conducted hundreds of training programs involving countries across the world, and published numerous research and technical reports. The New Media Institute was founded in 2000 to explore the creative, critical and commercial implications of emerging digital communication technologies. In 2015, the National Press Photographers Association moved its headquarters to Grady.

Academics

Grady comprises three academic departments: journalism, advertising and public relations, and entertainment and media studies. Admission to the undergraduate program is selective and open to students who have completed their sophomore year. The college provides instruction at the undergraduate and graduate levels in a range of subject areas including public relations, advertising, broadcast and multimedia journalism, photojournalism, new media, communication, publication management, media innovation and entrepreneurship, and screenwriting.

Experiential learning through capstone courses like Grady Newsource; study-abroad experiences like Cannes-Lions and Choose China; and involvement with clubs like Talking Dog and PRSSA, provide experiences beyond the classroom. Many students work on the award-winning, independent student newspaper, The Red and Black, and its lifestyle publication, Ampersand Magazine, as well as the student-operated WUOG, a radio station broadcasting to Athens and surrounding areas.

Research programs

Grady houses the following centers, institutes and affiliates for research and education:

Center for Advanced Computer-Human Ecosystems

Center for Health and Risk Communication

George Foster Peabody Awards

Georgia Scholastic Press Association

James M. Cox Jr. Center for International Mass Communication Training and Research

James M. Cox Jr. Institute for Journalism Innovation, Management and Leadership

New Media Institute

National Press Photographers Association

Peabody Media Center

Peabody Awards

In 1938, leaders of the National Association of Broadcasters asked Lambdin Kay, WSB station manager in Atlanta, to create an award for excellence in broadcasting. He turned to Drewy, Grady's dean, for sponsorship. The result was the creation in 1940 of the George Foster Peabody Awards, named after a benefactor to the University of Georgia. The next year, the Peabody Awards were first presented to six distinguished radio winners at the Commodore Hotel in New York City. Grady has since administered the award to recognize outstanding achievements in radio, television and digital media.

More than a thousand submissions are judged annually by the Peabody Board of Jurors, made up of respected media professionals, media scholars, critics and journalists. The board meets at least three times, with the final viewing and discussion session held at the university. To win a Peabody in one of about 30 categories, ranging from news, entertainment and public service to documentary, children's and web/interactive programming, a program must receive the unanimous approval of all board members. Past Peabody winners include Edward R. Murrow, Walter Cronkite, Barbara Walters, BBC, 60 Minutes and Al Jazeera.

Accreditation

Grady is accredited by the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications.

Notable alumni

The following is a list of some notable alumni in the fields of journalism, media and communication:

Lamar Trotti (1922) – Academy Award-winning motion picture producer

Eugene Patterson (1943) – Pulitzer Prize-winning editor of Washington Post

Edwin Pope (1948) – Miami Herald sports columnist

Gene Methvin (1955) – Reader's Digest senior editor

Donald A. Davis (1962) – New York Times author; UPI correspondent

Charlayne Hunter-Gault (1963) – Peabody Award and Emmy Award-winning reporter

Tom Johnson (1963) – chief executive, CNN and Los Angeles Times; White House Fellow

Harry Chapman (1967) – longtime WTVF news anchor in Nashville, Tennessee

John Holliman (1970) – CNN war correspondent

John Huey (1970) – Time Inc. editor-in-chief, columnist

Maxine Clark (1971) — founder of Build-A-Bear

Brenda Hampton (1972) – creator and executive producer, 7th Heaven and The Secret Life of the American Teenager

Kathy Trocheck (1976) – a.k.a. Mary Kay Andrews, New York Times best-selling author

Bonnie Arnold (1977) – film producer, Walt Disney Feature Animation, Pixar and DreamWorks Animation