Glen Nowak shares goals of graduate studies at Grady College

In the first few weeks as the Grady College’s new associate dean for research and graduate studies, Glen Nowak has welcomed a new group of first-year graduate students, strategized with fellow faculty members and begun his new UGA administration responsibilities. In his new role, Nowak knows the value that Grady College students and faculty bring to other researchers and instructors on campus.

“We are an asset to the larger UGA academic ecosystem because of our expertise in communications technology and content,” Nowak said at a recent “Lunch and Learn” presented by Grady College.

Nowak was an Advertising and Public Relations Department faculty member from 1989 to 1998, and since rejoining the faculty in January 2013. In between, he spent 14 years at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. He joined CDC in 1999 as communications director for CDC’s National Immunization Program, a position he held for six years before becoming the agency’s director of media relations.

Nowak told graduate students and fellow faculty that Grady College is well qualified to help lead UGA with its strategic goals because the media and communication expertise, work and research in the College are highly valued by a wide arrange of disciplines. He said it promotes collaborations with other researchers here and at other organizations because Grady faculty can bring needed perspectives and tools, including communication technologies, to projects that need or want well-design communication strategies or materials. In addition, the media and communication skills and experiences that Grady provides graduate students well equip them for securing employment upon graduation.

“Employers value our graduate students particularly when it comes to research skills and communication capabilities,” Nowak said.

Ultimately, Nowak says the main goal for graduate studies at Grady College is to help PhD and master’s students achieve their learning and career goals.

“Our students graduating and having accomplished their goals and objectives — that is what success looks like,” Nowak said.

Other graduate studies goals include increased university and public visibility, achieving success with external funding proposals and involved in research collaborations with faculty across UGA.