Grady College Alumni Awards

John Holliman Jr. Lifetime Achievement Award

Carolina Acosta-Alzuru (MA ’96, PhD ’99), recipient of the John Holliman Jr. Lifetime Achievement Award, is a professor of public relations at Grady College. She teaches courses in public relations campaigns and cultural studies, specifically focusing on links between the media, culture and society. She has also published multiple articles and books on telenovelas – a subject she has been studying for over 20 years.

The John Holliman Jr. Lifetime Achievement Award honors sustained contributions to the profession throughout a career.

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Mid-Career Alumni Award

Julie Wolfe (ABJ ’03), honored with the Henry W. Grady Mid-Career Award, is the news director at Seattle’s legacy television station KING 5, a role she has held since June 2021. Before that, Wolfe served as news director at WHAS in Louisville, leading the team through award-winning coverage of the Breonna Taylor case and launching its Emmy-winning investigative unit, FOCUS.

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John E. Drewry Young Alumni Award

Julia Carpenter (ABJ ’13), recipient of the John E. Drewry Young Alumni Award, is a reporter for The Wall Street Journal. She previously worked at both CNN and The Washington Post, and has also written for publications including Glamour, Vogue and New York Magazine.

The Drewry award recognizes a graduate of the last decade who has experienced a successful early career.

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Distinguished Scholar Award

Pat Curtin (MA ’91, PhD ’96), recipient of the Distinguished Scholar Award, is a professor and endowed chair of public relations at the University of Oregon School of Journalism and Communication Curtin has previously taught at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. Her research encompasses cross-cultural public relations, public relations history and the development of critical/postmodern approaches to public relations theory.

The Distinguished Alumni Scholar Award honors a graduate for excellence and sustained contributions to scholarship in journalism and mass communication education.

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John Holliman Jr. Lifetime Achievement Award Recipients
1975 – Tom Johnson (ABJ ’63)
1976 – Jasper Dorsey (ABJ ’36)
1977 – Don Carter (ABJ ’38)
1978 – Eugene Patterson (ABJ ’43)
1979 – Bill Ray (ABJ ’35)
1980 – Aubrey Morris (ABJ ’45)
1981 – Frank Hawkins (ABJ ’33)
1982 – William Ott (ABJ ’49)
1983 – William S. Morris, III (ABJ ’56)
1984 – James G. Minter, Jr. (ABJ ’51)
1985 – Powell A. Moore (ABJ ’59)
1986 – Eugene H. Methvin (ABJ ’55)
1987 – Robert Sherrod (ABJ ’29)
1988 – C. Richard Yarbrough (ABJ ’59)
1989 – Randall E. Savage (ABJ ’72)
1990 – Thomas C. Dowden (ABJ ’62)
1991 – Willie K. Thrower Friar (ABJ ’47)
1992 – Billy Watson (ABJ ’60)
1993 – Connie Stewart (ABJ ’59, MA ’68)
1994 – J. Carrol Dadisman(ABJ ’56)
1995 – Harley Bowers (ABJ ’42)
1996 – James P. Wooten (ABJ ’68)
1997 – Jack Avrett (ABJ ’50)
1998 – Earl Leonard (ABJ ’58)
1999 – John Holliman, Jr. (ABJ ’70)
2000 – Willis Johnson (ABJ ’43)
2001 – Edwin Pope (ABJ ’48)
2002 – Neil Aronstam (ABJ ’65)
2003 – Dennis Berry (ABJ ’66)
2004 – Harry Chapman (ABJ ’67)
2005 – Dan Magill (ABJ ’42)
2006 – Donald Perry (ABJ ’74)
2007 – Millard Grimes (ABJ ’51)
2008 – Carolyn Tieger (ABJ ’69)
2009 – Judge R. Alex Crumbley (ABJ ’64)
2010 – W.H. “Dink” NeSmith, Jr. (ABJ ’70)
2011 – Roger Strauss (ABJ ’80)
2012 – Edward Ingles (ABJ ’58)
2013 – Claude Felton (ABJ ’70, ABJ ’71)
2014 – Alan Griggs (ABJ ’72)

2015 – Joel Babbit (ABJ ’76)
2016 – Ernie Johnson Jr. (ABJ ’78)
2017 – Bonnie Arnold (ABJ’ 77)
2018 – Sally Yates (ABJ’82, JD’86) 
2019 – Chris Holcomb (ABJ ’85) 
2020 – Monica Pearson (MA ’14)
2022 – Carolina Acosta-Alzuru (MA ’96, PhD ’99)

Mid-Career Alumni Award Recipients

1995 – Deborah L. Blum (ABJ ’76)
1996 – Michelle Green (ABJ ’75)
1997 – Bonnie Arnold (ABJ ’77)
1998 – Bill Mattox (ABJ ’84)
1999 – Dan Gearino (ABJ ’75)
2000 – Walt Lloyd (ABJ ’73)
2001 – Dawn McCall (ABJ ’77)
2002 – Betty Hudson (ABJ ’71)
2003 – Brenda Hampton (ABJ ’73)
2004 – Lee Duffey (ABJ ’80)
2005 – Randy Travis (ABJ ’82) 
2006 – Bill Dean (ABJ ’83)
2007 – Jennifer Sloan (ABJ ’86)
2008 – Gene Colter (ABJ ’89)
2009 – Josh Jackson (ABJ ’94)
2010 – Justin Gillis (ABJ ’82)
2011 – Col. Bryan Salas (ABJ ’87) 
2012 – Lisa Ryan Howard (ABJ ’92)
2013 – William Ostick (ABJ ’88)
2014 – Amy Glennon (ABJ ’90)
2015 – Michael Giarrusso (ABJ ’92)
2016 – Michael Abramowitz (ABJ ’90)
2017 – Jason Kreher (ABJ ’00)
2018 – Ashley Huston (ABJ’96). 
2019 – Henry “Hadjii” Hand (ABJ ’98)
2020 – Purvey Farahi (ABJ ’95)
2022 – Julie Wolfe (ABJ ’03)

John E. Drewry Award Recipients

1977 – Rex Granum (ABJ ’72)
1978 – Roger Ann Jones
1979 – Rodney Allen Smith (ABJ ’71)
1980 – Frank Compton (ABJ ’68)
1981 – W.H. (Dink) Nesmith, Jr. (ABJ ’70)
1982 – Betty Johnson Hudson (ABJ ’71)
1983 – Dennis McClain (ABJ ’70)
1984 – Mary Jo West (ABJ ’73)
1985 – Ernie Johnson, Jr. (ABJ ’78)
1986 – Deborah A. Norville (ABJ ’79)
1987 – Lewis Grizzard (ABJ ’84)
1988 – William R. Jones (ABJ ’77)
1989 – Mary Anne Hill (ABJ ’80)
1990 – Carolyn Carlson (ABJ ’73)

1991 – Joel Babbit (ABJ ’76)
1992 – Condace Pressley (ABJ ’86)
1993 – Deborah Roberts (ABJ ’82)
1994 – Hanna Ledford (ABJ ’68)
1995 – Julie Bryan Moran (ABJ ’84)
1996 – Timothy W. Mapes (ABJ ’86)
1997 – Lauran Neergaard (ABJ ’89)
1998 – Chip Caray (ABJ ’87)
1999 – Chris Decherd (ABJ ’90)
2000 – Michael Giarrusso (ABJ ’92)
2001 – Todd Fantz (ABJ ’92)
2002 – Amanda Rosseter (ABJ ’90)
2003 – Christopher Grimes (ABJ ’92)
2004 – Erin McClam (ABJ ’99)
2005 – Tom Lasseter (ABJ ’99)
2006 – Kyle Wingfield (ABJ ’01)
2007 – Jon Gallo (ABJ ’99)
2008 – Jessica Foster Bonner (ABJ ’04)
2009 – Jennifer Rainey Marquez (ABJ ’00)
2010 – Lynssey Gardner (ABJ ’06)
2011 – Kelly Hornbuckle (ABJ ’06)
2012 – Alex Wallace (ABJ ’04)
2013 – Ben Mayer (ABJ ’06)
2014 – Greg Bluestein (ABJ ’04)
2015 – Dawn Brun (ABJ ’04)
2016 – Maria Taylor (ABJ ’09)
2017 – Brooke Beach (ABJ ’11)
2018 – Polina Marinova (ABJ’13)
2019 – Angela Alfano (ABJ ’10)
2020 – Lindsey Cook (ABJ ’14)
2022 – Julia Carpenter (ABJ ’13)

Distinguished Alumni Scholar Award Recipients