Cantrell-Bickley, Hume and Barnes retire

Three colleagues who have had an incredible impact on the Department of Journalism and Grady College over the past 30 years are retiring.

Janice Hume, former head of the Department of Journalism and current associate dean for academic affairs is retiring after more than 25 years in higher education, the last 24 years at Grady College. She has served as the inaugural Carolyn McKenzie and Don E. Carter Chair for Excellence in Journalism since 2022.

Yvonne “Dodie” Cantrell-Bickley, senior lecturer in journalism and executive producer of Grady Newsource, is retiring after 12 years teaching at Grady College.

And, Sophie Barnes, administrative associate for the Department of Journalism, is retiring after 30 years of service to the College.

“When I think of them, I break into a massive smile because this trio of super women has made such a collective impact on this place and done so by giving of themselves selflessly time and again,” said Charles N. Davis, dean of Grady College. “When we needed leadership, service or a steady hand on the wheel, these three were always present and always willing.”

Janice Hume

Janice Hume joined Grady College in 2001 following four years teaching at Kansas State University and more than 10 years serving as editor and writer at the Mobile (Alabama) Register. At Grady College, Hume served several years as a professor and was promoted to head of the Department of Journalism in 2013.  She was named associate dean in 2022.

Davis has known Hume through academic circles long before they both worked at Grady College and said that not only has she been integral to the daily operations at the College, but she is deeply respected across UGA.

“She makes my job easier daily, taking on myriad administrative tasks,” Davis said. “As department chair of journalism, she ushered in the new era of digital-first curriculum, bolstered the department’s research and experiential learning and added several dynamic new faculty members. She’s quick with a laugh and keeps it all in perspective.”

Peters agrees.

“She understands how different parts of the university interact and how decisions in one area can impact others,” he said. “She always acts with integrity, and she leads by example, demonstrating the values and work that she expects from others. She also invests deeply in the growth and development of her colleagues, and I have been a major beneficiary of that.”

Mark Johnson, principal lecturer at Grady College, is impressed by the number of faculty and students Hume has impacted.

“She either helped hire you or helped to promote every single one of us,” Johnson told a group of faculty and staff in April. “More than one-fifth of the journalism alumni from the University of Georgia have been impacted in some way or shaped by Janice Hume. That is an amazing accomplishment and legacy to be leaving behind here.”

Hume taught undergraduate and graduate courses in media history, ethics and media credibility. One of Hume’s biggest projects for the College concluded in November 2024 after she led a lengthy, once-every-seven-year reaccreditation review, where the curriculum and the operations for the College are carefully evaluated and critiqued by a national board of peer reviewers. Thanks to her organization and astute leadership, the accreditation was approved with flying colors.

Hume has left an impact not only on the faculty, staff and alumni of Grady College, but on society through her research on media history and public memory. She is the author of three books, including “Popular Media and the American Revolution: Shaping Collective Memory” and “Obituaries in American Culture,” where she studied 8,000 obituaries and what they mean to changing American values.  

She has received numerous awards for her research including the National Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2012 and the Lifetime Achievement Award in Journalism History in 2022, both given by the American Journalism Historians Association. She has been named the recipient of the Donald L. Shaw Senior Scholar Award, which she will accept in August from the History Division of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication.

Hume earned a bachelor’s degree in magazines and a master’s and Ph.D. in journalism, all from the University of Missouri.

Dodie Cantrell-Bickley

Yvonne “Dodie” Cantrell-Bickley, or simply Cantrell as she is known by many of her students, joined Grady College in 2013 after a successful 20-year career in the news industry, serving job positions including anchor, investigative reporter, executive producer and news director. She was president and general manager of WMAZ-TV in Macon from 2005 to 2008 and at WTLV/WJXX-TV in Jacksonville from 2008 to 2012.

“To watch Dodie at work in our control room and newsroom is to watch a variation of what Stephen King once called a ‘uniquely portable magic,’” said Peters, during a retirement celebration April. “She pushes students to develop often under intense deadline pressure, the competence needed to exercise sound news judgment and to craft compelling stories to keep audiences informed and engaged.”

She is beloved by her students and always a phone call away from both current students and alumni. One student summed up Cantrell-Bickley’s impact on a course evaluation recently by saying, “Every day I would arrive to class looking forward to whatever was ahead for us, from pitching story ideas to talking about the importance of change within journalism. No matter what we were doing, the fast pace and interactive environment prepared us for what a full-time job in journalism would actually feel like, and it provided us with the mindset to solve problems quickly and to work as a team. The class is tough, but everything about it made me a more capable journalist.”

In addition to the journalism capstone course, Grady Newsource, Cantrell-Bickley has been involved with leading students in producing election coverage and legacy documentaries like “The First Five: The Integration of University of Georgia Football,”“UGA’s 60^th Anniversary of Desegregation”    and the Student Emmy-winning documentary “We Will Rise,” about the Apalachee High School shooting. She served as the DiGamma Kappa broadcasting club advisor, mentored photojournalism students during the Georgia National Fair workshop and taught study away students travel journalism in Prague.

“I think [our students] have been really fortunate to see the brains and sort of thick skin of a news director, but also the empathy of a professor,” said Vicki Michaelis, John Huland Carmical Chair in Sports Journalism & Society, of Cantrell-Bickley.

There is a lot more to Cantrell-Bickley than meets the eye. She is a painter, speaks German and French, and is an author of two books, “The Reason of Fools” and “A Reason to Fear,” about her parents during World War II. Cantrell-Bickley has pursued two degrees while teaching. She earned a Master of Fine Arts in Narrative Media from UGA in 2017 and is currently pursuing a doctorate degree in mass communication. Prior to teaching, she earned a bachelor’s degree in organizational leadership from Mercer University and a master’s degree in public administration from Georgia College and State University.

Among her many Emmy Awards for news producing and her Teacher of the Year accolades, Cantrell-Bickley was inducted into the Southeast Emmy Silver Circle in 2018 and into the Georgia Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame in 2019.

“Dodie is an inspiring news source, promoter, defender, drill instructor and coach. To all of that, I would add a good friend who’s trustworthy, encouraging, thoughtful and funny as hell,” Peters said.

Sophie Barnes

There are few people more knowledgeable about the systems and course scheduling than Sophie Barnes. Her dry wit, organizational skills and penchant for making baby blankets and comfort afghans for colleagues have been steadfast during her 30 years working at Grady College.

“I’ve come to know Sophie is someone whose contributions go well beyond her job description,” Peters said. “Her dedication has been the backbone of this department for decades and her service has made a significant impact on countless students, faculty and staff. She is a skilled and creative problem solver and her institutional knowledge is beyond compare.”

When Hume was Department of Journalism head, she worked closely with Barnes.

Hume said, “It’s hard to put into words how much Sophie does to support journalism faculty and students and how good she is at it. She is a joy to work with. She’s completely trustworthy and knowledgeable. She saved me from myself so many times as department head. She’s the face of the journalism department and its first line of defense. And, she’s just a fun person to talk to.”

Johnson, who had an office within close proximity to Barnes for nearly 20 years, recalled the friendly banter back and forth without even having to get out of their chairs.

“We just yell because there’s nobody else to disturb sometimes back there…the comments, the jokes, the information about what’s going on, the knowledge on how to get stuff done that even after 20 years, I still screw up on a regular basis. Thank you for 20 years of friendship.”

Author: Sarah Freeman, freemans@uga.edu