Mark E. Johnson named John G. Alston, Sr., Professor of Sports Media
Mark E. Johnson named John G. Alston, Sr., Professor of Sports Media
Mark E. Johnson, a photojournalism professor and co-organizer of multiple international sports reporting experiences, has been named the John G. Alston, Sr., Professor of Sports Media.
John “Jimmy” Alston (ABJ ’66) is the former executive director of the John Huland Carmical Foundation, which also funded the John Huland Carmical Distinguished Professorship in Sports Journalism and Society that is currently held by Vicki Michaelis. The foundation’s support made the sports media program possible, and it has made several investments in the program as it has grown.
“When I found out that our dear friend and alumnus Jimmy Alston was going to continue his tradition of generously supporting our College and sports program with a named professorship, I immediately thought of Mark,” said Charles N. Davis, dean of Grady College. “Mark has time and again been there for our sports media students with invaluable instruction through organizing reporting trips to cover the Paralympics and Women’s World Cup, among others. These experiences have been eye-opening, and in some cases life-changing, for our students.”
John O. Knox, chairman of the Board of Directors for the John Huland Carmical Foundation said this is a fitting recognition of Alston’s support.
“The John Huland Carmical Foundation is honored to support the John G. Alston, Sr. Professorship as a tribute to Jimmy Alston’s enduring dedication to the University of Georgia and to the John Huland Carmical Sports Media Institute,” Knox said. “As a proud UGA alumnus, a founding supporter of the Sports Media Certificate program and longtime chair of the Foundation, Jimmy helped champion the vision that led to the Institute’s creation and growth. Establishing this professorship in his name ensures that his commitment to excellence in sports media education will endure, strengthening Grady College’s ability to support exceptional faculty like Mark Johnson and prepare students for leadership in an evolving media landscape.”
In addition to teaching courses in introductory and advanced photojournalism, documentary photojournalism and video journalism, Johnson serves as the chief technology officer for Grady College, overseeing computer systems and facility planning and renovation. He also serves as director of the National Press Photographers Association’s (NPPA) Best of Photojournalism competition. NPPA has its headquarters at UGA Grady College, a move Johnson helped orchestrate in 2015.
Johnson is the founder and director of the Woodall Weekend Workshop, a program where photojournalism professionals lead advanced photojournalism students in a hands-on workshop to visually tell stories in rural Georgia counties. Each Fall, Johnson also leads a workshop centered on capturing visual stories at the Georgia National Fair. Earlier iterations of the fall workshop covered Homecoming activities at UGA and for seven years, the Petit Le Mans international sports car race in Brasleton, Georgia. The workshop celebrated its 20th anniversary last year.
“I’m deeply honored to be associated with the Carmical Foundation and Jimmy Alston,” Johnson said of the honor. “The foundation’s support for our students and faculty through the Carmical Sports Media Institute has been transformational for the college.”
Johnson joined the Grady College faculty in 2005 after serving in roles as staff photographer and photo editor for several newspapers in the northeast. Johnson said much of the work he has done throughout the years as a photojournalist was centered around two things, sports and community understanding, and that this professorship will help continue that work through student programs and other projects.
“Community is something that is deeply woven into the photojournalism program,” Johnson said. “The primary thing I have tried to instill in students over the last two decades is the need to care. To care about the people they cover, to care about the people they cover them for and to care about the people they cover them with.”
Johnson earned a bachelor’s degree in photojournalism and a master’s degree in photography, both from Syracuse University.
Alston, and his wife, Gayle, met at UGA when they were both students. Jimmy graduated with a degree in advertising and public relations and entered the U.S. Army where he served in Vietnam. In 1969, Jimmy began work as a real estate broker and later established a successful building products company called JGA Corporation. He sold the JGA Corporation in 2006 and served several years as chair of the John Huland Carmical Foundation. Jimmy and Gayle were named the Family of the Year Alumni Award recipients by UGA in 2017.
John Huland Carmical, a distinguished journalist at The New York Times, graduated from Grady College at UGA in 1917, two years after the journalism school was created.
Author: Sarah E. Freeman
