It was an evening for recognizing former faculty members who made an impact, envisioning the future of production and film at Athena Studios and saluting bravery in defending the U.S. Capitol, as nearly 170 Grady College alumni, faculty, students and friends celebrated honorees at the 2023 Grady Salutes: A Celebration of Achievement, Leadership and Commitment.
The dinner gala took place April 28 thanks to a special arrangement at the new Athena Studios, a 14,000-square-foot creator space that the College shares with Georgia Film Academy for the purpose of teaching production classes to students in Entertainment and Media Studies and the MFA in Film, Television and Digital Media. The studio space is donated to Grady College for five years by Joel Harber, developer of the studio complex, who was also in attendance.
Perhaps the highlight of the evening the presentation of the Dean’s Medal for Leadership Excellence to Private First Class Officer Caroline Edwards (ABJ ’12). Edwards was the first police officer injured during the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. She testified to the Jan. 6 House Select Committee on June 9, 2022, where millions of television viewers were riveted by her bravery and calm under pressure.
“Her fearlessness, her courage and her devotion to duty embody the best of us,” Charles N. Davis, dean of Grady College, said in his introductory remarks.
She accepted her award to a rousing standing ovation.
“Bringing an unthinkable story to life, giving words to those who cannot speak for themselves and telling the truth, despite personal costs, is what Democracy’s Next Generation is all about,” Edwards said, tying together her testimony with the motto above the front door of Grady College. “It is what we are called to do every day as journalism majors, despite what career we end up in.”
Maura Friedman accepts her John E. Drewry Young Alumni Award. (Photo: Sarah E. Freeman)
Yolanda Taylor Brignoni celebrates at Grady Salutes with family and friends. (Photo: Jackson Schroeder)
Doreen Gentzler accepts her John Holliman, Jr. Lifetime Achievement Award from Dean Charles Davis and Alumni Board President Tracy Brown. (Photo: Jackson Schroeder)
George Daniels accepts the Distinguished Alumni Scholar Award. (Photo: Jackson Schroeder)
Regina Hicks talks about her finding her passion for writing as a student at Grady College. (Photo: Sarah E. Freeman)
Robin Hommel talks with Randy Travis before the Grady Salutes ceremony. (Photo: Sarah E. Freeman)
Randy Travis talks with students (from left) Dania Kalaji, Elise Kim and Ashley Balsavias. (Photo: Sarah E. Freeman)
Caroline Edwards (front row, second from right) celebrates her Dean's Medal with family and friends. (Photo: Sarah E. Freeman)
Brian PJ Cronin, the McCommons Award for Distinguished Community Journalism recipient, celebrates with (from left) Gay and Pete McCommons (the award namesake), Beth Cronin, and Award benefactors, Kathy Prescott and Grady Thrasher. (Photo: Jackson Schroeder)
Set against the backdrop of house scene used for class productions, honorees accepted their awards. Those receiving awards included Alumni Award recipients:
Maura Friedman (ABJ ‘13), John E. Drewry Young Alumni Award
Susan Percy shares comments after her Fellowship induction. (Photo: Jackson Schroeder)
Each recipient shared brief personal narratives about how their education directed their professional life.
Friedman thanked those who bought a Georgia Lottery ticket and helped fund her education.
“I am very seriously a testament to loan-free, public, quality education and that is a cause and need of support across Georgia,” said Friedman, a senior photo editor at National Geographic.
Many honorees recognized faculty who encouraged them and gave them confidence while they were students. Emeritus professors Bill Lee and David Hazinski, who were in the audience, were mentioned several times, along with Bill Martin.
Hicks, who is a writer, executive producer and showrunner for “The Upshaws” on Netflix, talked about discovering her writing talent while a student at the College. She recalled a conversation with the late Barry Sherman after she turned in a project where she wrote the first 30 minutes of a film.
“’Did you write this?’” Hicks recalled Sherman asking her. “’Because, this is what you should be doing.’ I will forever be grateful for that moment in his office because he led me down this path. The foundation I got from this school has shaped who I am.”
Travis, an investigative reporter at Fox 5, talked about the lasting impact of his education.
“I thank Grady,” Travis said at the end of his acceptance speech. “As all the people who have walked up on this stage tonight can attest, you made our dreams come true. You really are the dream factory.”
Caroline Edwards accepts the Dean’s Medal for Leadership Excellence from Dean Charles Davis
Brian PJ Cronin, center, stands on stage at Grady Salutes with his wife, Beth, Gay and Pete McCommons (left) and Kathy Prescott and Grady Thrasher (right). (Photo: Jackson Schroeder)
Brian PJ Cronin of The Highlands Current has been named the recipient of the 2021 Rollin M. “Pete” McCommons Award for Distinguished Community Journalism. The award, which was presented during the Grady Salutes gala on Friday, April 28, 2023, recognizes Cronin for his multi-part series on food insecurity, titled “Hunger in the Highlands.”
“The selection committee outdid themselves this year by choosing Brian PJ Cronin,” said Pete McCommons, whom the award is named after. “Mr. Cronin not only took a deep dive into the reasons for hunger amid plenty, but he also plunged into the world of those attempting to combat hunger and tells us through their words what is working and what needs to be done to make it work better.”
The McCommons Award, established by Grady Thrasher and Kathy Prescott to honor Pete McCommons, publisher and editor of Flagpole Magazine in Athens, annually recognizes impactful coverage on issues that affect a community. Nominations are now open for the 2022 award, and can be submitted on the McCommons Award for Distinguished Community Journalism webpage.
Although The Highlands Current’s coverage area, which includes Cold Spring, Beacon and Philipstown, New York, is generally affluent, Cronin saw that there was an overwhelming need for food assistance. He then mapped this out in his reporting.
“It’s gratifying to bestow the McCommons award on a journalist who reported on a subject that I know Pete cares deeply about,” Charles N. Davis, dean of Grady College, said. “This work highlights hunger, an issue that we can and must solve together as a society, and does its best work by identifying a problem but also identifying potential solutions.”
In his reporting, Cronin took an in-depth look at numerous aspects of food insecurity, including housing, transportation, agriculture, inequality, education and more. His series ended with a resource guide for residents.
Cronin was recognized for his series on food insecurity, titled “Hunger in the Highlands.” (Photo: Jackson Schroeder)
“We were impressed by the depth and richness of this reporting, and especially the time and resources he was given to carry out this project,” explained Kyser Lough, the chair of the McCommons Award Committee and an assistant professor in Grady’s Department of Journalism.
“He used well-rounded sourcing to find the relevant data and people necessary to build a deeper narrative,” Lough added, “which allowed him to thoroughly present the topic and then start exploring what people were doing about it. His work highlights the need for in-depth coverage like this that can fully explore the nuance and context of a community topic, and the importance of community news outlets.”
In his acceptance speech, Cronin emphasized the importance of local, independent journalism, reinforcing its pivotal role in communities.
“It’s up to small, local, independent news organizations with boots on the ground and knowledge of their communities to keep their communities from crumbling,” said Cronin. “It’s up to us, because no one else is going to do it for us.”
Jon Peters, the head of the Department of Journalism, shares this sentiment.
“Community journalism is as important as ever, and Brian’s work is a powerful reminder of it — and an exemplar of telling stories that matter to your town and neighborhood,” said Peters. “He learned of a major problem, he thoroughly investigated and reported it, and he shared a variety of public resources and possible solutions. That’s exceptionally valuable and a credit to Brian’s vision as a reporter. I’m thrilled we’re honoring him.”
The Rollin M. “Pete” McCommons Award for Distinguished Community Journalism, sponsored by the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication, goes to small- or niche-market media outlets that have produced single or packaged stories on issues affecting their community and can offer how these stories may have impacted their community. These media outlets can create bonds with its citizens, increase diversity, offer greater depth and context, and find ways to capture local priorities, concerns and perspectives.
The following is one installment of a series recognizing alumni and friends who will be honored at the 2023 Grady Salutes celebration on April 28, 2023. For more details, please see our posts about our Fellowship honorees, Alumni Award recipients and Dean’s Medalist.
Friedman looks through various photos of birds at the National Geographic office.
Friedman gives a presentation at Atlanta Photo Night.
Friedman studied abroad in Cambodia during her time at UGA.
Congratulations to Maura Friedman (ABJ ‘13), recipient of the John E. Drewry Young Alumni Award.
Friedman is a senior photo editor at National Geographic where she curates and commissions photography on stories across print, digital and social media.
Before starting at National Geographic, Friedman worked at the Urban Institute, the Chattanooga Times Free Press, and as a freelance visual journalist producing stories across the Southeast United States.
Friedman takes a photo in a cemetery.
She has produced work for many well-known organizations, including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Whole Foods and YouTube. Friedman has also served on juries and portfolio reviews for organizations such as American Photography 39, Visa Pour L’Image and the International Center of Photography.
Friedman has been recognized with several awards for her work as an editor as well as for her work in the field. Her own visual work has won Tennessee Associated Press awards, a Dart Award and it has been part of a Pulitzer finalist special project.
During her time at UGA, Friedman received her Bachelor’s in Magazine Journalism with an emphasis in photojournalism. She also completed the New Media Certificate. She decided to pursue a career in photojournalism because she truly enjoys it.
“I was trying to figure out what to do when I was graduating and I thought to myself, ‘What has felt like the least amount of work?’ And that was photojournalism,” Friedman said.
The path to photojournalism
Friedman has been interested in photography since she was little. Because of her mom’s background in art history, she grew up going to the High Museum of Art in Atlanta. During these visits, she would take pictures of the artwork, and she even remembers saving up her babysitting money to buy her first DSLR camera: a Canon Rebel.
When Friedman arrived at UGA, she knew that she was interested in studying magazine journalism. However, it wasn’t until she immersed herself in organizations like Ampersand Magazine that her passion for photojournalism began to take root.
“I was becoming the managing editor at Ampersand, and I was like, ‘I need to have some context for leading the photo editor and these teams of photographers.’” Friedman said. “So I dove a lot more into [photojournalism] and decided to apply to the emphasis and I ended up loving it.”
Friedman said that her time at Grady College and her involvement in different organizations on campus prepared her well for life after UGA.
Friedman poses with other students in her photojournalism class at UGA.
“The way that we conducted ourselves at The Red & Black and Ampersand, along with the expectations from all of my professors, and especially Mark Johnson, has made such an impact on me,” she said.
After graduation, Friedman decided to pursue a career in photojournalism. With the help of Grady funding, she attended a northern short course workshop through the National Press Photographers Association (NPPA). There she met a leader in NPPA who was also a friend of Professor Johnson’s, and she asked him to look over her portfolio.
“He looked at my photos and he was like, ‘Do you really want to do this?’ And I was like, ‘Yes,’” Friedman said. “And he essentially said, ‘Okay, well, you’re not very good, so you should just take a lot more photos and I would suggest that you apply to one of the six month newspaper internships around the country because you’ll get a lot of experience and be taking photos every day.’”
Friedman took his advice to heart and created a spreadsheet of all of the newspaper internships and then applied to every single one. She diligently followed up with each of them and ended up getting a position at the Chattanooga Times Free Press.
Friedman said that the Times Free Press had had a great experience with UGA interns before, but that her persistence also probably helped her secure the internship.
“I think they were a little eager to go back to UGA interns and also, I was told later that I was given a phone interview so I would stop calling the newsroom,” she said.
Persistence is key
As she has moved forward in her career, Friedman has noticed that new doors continue to open as a result of seeking out overlaps between her interests and gaps in the interests of others.
“When I was at the Times Free Press, it was a pretty seasoned team of photo journalists and so they weren’t very eager about video,” Friedman said. “So I worked a lot on video and was able to kind of pitch myself into a multimedia reporter position.”
Friedman smiles with her camera during her internship at Chattanooga Times Free Press.
Friedman also took the time to invest in new skills that didn’t necessarily fall directly within the responsibilities of her role at the time. She turned to the larger photojournalism community, attending workshops and getting connected with people in order to continue learning and pursuing her interests.
“I learned about how editors work with stories and curation… and people were always like, ‘Oh, if you need someone to look through an assignment, Maura can do it,’” Friedman said. “The Week also used to have a photo column that I wrote for them for free with the caveat that the editor, when she inevitably rearranged my whole photo edit, would tell me why she did that and kind of walk me through the process.”
All of this learning and searching for overlaps led Friedman to her jobs at the Urban Institute and National Geographic.
“A lot of opportunities or things that ended up helping me stand out or advance just came from looking at issues with curiosity,” Friedman said.
National Geographic
During her time as a senior photo editor, Friedman has been able to build long-lasting relationships with the photographers who she works with. Additionally, National Geographic still has a filing system which does not allow you to delete any images, so the editors look at every single picture taken by the photographers.
Friedman edits the Appian Way story at the National Geographic office.
“When I’m going through someone’s entire take, it feels like I can tell what they’re feeling and what they’re thinking,” Friedman said. “And it makes for really productive conversations.”
She added that advancing the work of these photographers is one of the most rewarding parts of her job as a senior photo editor.
“For me, it’s most rewarding when I talk to photographers and our collaboration has, in some way, advanced their body of work, whether it’s that the assignment that we did has been meaningful and has contributed to the archive that they’re building, or that they were on assignment for someone else and heard me in their head,” Friedman said.
One of her favorite pieces that she has worked on so far is a story on the Appian Way, one of the first and most famous ancient roads. Friedman really enjoyed being able to work with photographer Andrea Frazzetta on this project.
“He and I gelled really well,” Friedman said. “We’re both pretty esoteric thinkers, so a lot of our brainstorming was exchanging heroes’ epics and being like, ‘We want to photograph it like the Italian academic period.’”
Working with Frazzetta was also a full-circle moment for Friedman. She sat in on a meeting with him and another photo editor at the start of her time at National Geographic and she said that he was one of the first photographers to really talk to her and look her in the eye in those meetings.
Friedman poses for a picture with photographer Andrea Frazzetta on the Appian Way.
“Andrea is a great guy and was one of the first people to be really nice to me when I showed up at National Geographic and no one knew me. You definitely get treated differently everywhere you go as a woman,” Friedman said. “It feels great to now be working with him in this professional capacity.”
Advice for Grady students
When asked what she would tell herself at 20 years old, Friedman said that she would tell herself that everything works out and to stop being so hard on herself. She would also tell herself to look at more photography.
“I think I was really focused on productivity and making stories and checking things off versus really exploring documentary photography and all sorts of inspiring spaces and getting to know my taste,” Friedman said.
She added that it took her a long time to develop her own taste in photography and that she sees that same gap in lots of other young photographers.
“I think that’s important, not so that you can have an answer for me when I ask about it, but so that you have your own kind of North Star,” Friedman said.
Friedman also shared some of the best advice that she has ever received, which has helped her in her career.
“There are three important things, and you only have to pick two: you can be really good, you can be really nice, or you can be on time,” Friedman said. “I really think that everyone who has a long career fits into those spaces.”
Something else that Friedman has learned throughout her career is the importance of trusting your own creative vision and of finding people whose work you admire and whose input you value.
“I think it is important to decide whose voices matter to you and who you trust,” Friedman said. “You’re always right in your vision.”
The following is one installment of a series recognizing alumni and friends who will be honored at the 2023 Grady Salutes celebration on April 28, 2023. For more details, please see our posts about our Fellowship honorees, Alumni Award recipients and Dean’s Medalist.
Congratulations to Randy Travis (ABJ ’82) who has been named to this year’s class of Grady Fellowship inductees.
Travis became interested in reporting in high school during a year-long sabbatical in England with his parents. “While I was there, I started reading the International Herald Tribune because I wanted to read the baseball scores for the Braves,” he said. Upon returning to his hometown of Athens, he joined the high school newspaper and eventually decided to pursue broadcast journalism in college.
In college, Travis was a sports writer for for the Athens Daily News. Here’s a clipping of a story he wrote about former UGA football player Herschel Walker.
Travis began his career after college at 13-WMAZ in Macon, Georgia before moving to Greenville, South Carolina to work as a bureau chief for the Anderson Bureau of WYFF. “I was the only guy there so I could be anything I wanted,” he said. After that, he worked in Memphis at WMC-TV before moving to FOX 5 Atlanta, where he has since worked for more than 30 years.
Travis is a Peabody Award-winning investigative reporter, who joined WAGA in 1990 as a general assignment reporter. In 1994, he moved to the station’s distinguished investigative unit, the FOX 5 I-Team, which Travis says changed his career entirely. “General assignment reporting is important, but it can get mundane after awhile when you’re covering the same kinds of stories,” Travis said. “With investigative reporting, every story that I do makes a difference.”
In addition to the Peabody Award, his investigative work has earned him two national Edward R. Murrow awards, plus more than 20 regional Emmy awards. Travis is also the recipient of the 2005 Mid-Career Alumni Award from Grady College.
Randy Travis speaks onstage at the 78th Annual Peabody Awards Ceremony at Cipriani Wall Street on May 18, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Mike Pont)
What experience during your time at Grady College had the biggest influence on where you are today?
There’s a professor who’s passed away now: Bill Martin. There was a famous show in 1970s about a newsroom called “The Mary Tyler Moore Show”, and it had a news director named Lou Grant, and he was a tough news director. Bill was like Lou Grant – he loved his students and and he had a huge impact on us.
During the spring of my senior year, I took a class called “Advanced Radio–TV News,” where you have to actually go out to do your stories and it would air on GPTV in the form of documentary. That’s all we could do. We didn’t have any regular newscasts back then. There was clear talent in my class – including Deborah Roberts, Eugenia Harvey and Chuck Westbrook. Bill was able to give us something that I think Grady is so good at, and he was able to give us confidence. All the talent in the world is not going to land you a job unless you think you can get the job. We came out of that class ready to take on the world. I was only 20 when I graduated, and I looked like I was 16 on air. I had no business at all being on television. But, Bill gave us this confidence that we could make it in this business.
What advice do you have for today’s Grady College students?
Travis began working for WAGA in 1990, moving to the investigative unit in 1994.
You’ve got to watch the news. You’ve got to read the newspaper and not just read what comes up on your news feed on TikTok or Facebook or Instagram. Read a newspaper every day. Watch a real newscast. When you go out in your social group, you need to be the one who knows more about what’s going on the world than the rest of your friends. Don’t let the botany major be the one who knows what’s going on.
Try to write. When you read, you become a better writer – I think they go hand in hand – but you need to do the writing. That’s why I’m so fortunate when I was a sports writer, because I was writing stories every day on deadline that gave me just a tremendous foundation for what I do today. I encourage people even if you’re just writing for a blog or something, just try to write a column. Try to write something. It’ll always make you a better writer and you’ll get faster too.
What would you tell your 20-year-old self?
I would say not to worry so much. Also, ask more questions to my mentors – that is what I would tell my 20-year old self. I wrote for the Athens Observer and the editor of the paper was Phillip Lee Williams, who’s also a Grady fellow. He’s an accomplished novelist now and I was so lucky to work under him. I wish I had asked him more questions about writing. I didn’t realize at the time how fortunate I was to have mentors like him in my life, and I should have taken better advantage of those resources.
Are there any books or podcasts that you would recommend to our students?
Travis anchoring at WMC-TV in Memphis.
I have read a lot of Bob Woodward’s books. He’s really good about covering important events in Washington. He is so meticulous as a journalist. He documents everything, records everything – I recommend anything that he writes. Al Tompkins is a great resource. He has great ideas for journalists and how we do our jobs.
What motivates you?
The Constitution only protects one private industry by name – and that’s the press. They did that because they knew that they had to protect the watchdog of government, and if we are not out asking “why?” to our elected leaders and having them justify their decisions or call them out on their hypocrisy, sometimes we’re not fulfilling our patriotic duty. That is why I’m so passionate about what we do as investigative reporters – because if we don’t do it, a major part of this of this shield for our democracy comes loose.
Comments have been trimmed for length and clarity.
Tickets to Grady Salutes: Celebrating Achievement, Leadership and Commitment on April 28, 2023, are available for purchase. Register here.
The following is one installment of a series recognizing alumni and friends who will be honored at the 2023 Grady Salutes celebration on April 28, 2023. For more details, please see our posts about our Fellowship honorees and Alumni Award recipients.
Caroline Edwards poses for a photo with Hairy Dawg during a Relay for Life event.
Caroline Edwards (ABJ ’12), a private first class officer with the U.S. Capitol Police who responded to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, has been named the 2023 Dean’s Medal for Leadership Excellence recipient.
Officer Edwards was the first police officer injured by the rioters while stationed at the West Front of the Capitol. She suffered a traumatic brain injury after being knocked unconscious. On June 9, 2022, Officer Edwards testified to the Jan. 6 House Select Committee.
“Even after suffering a traumatic brain injury, Officer Edwards patrolled the Capitol’s West Plaza and prevented many rioters from entering the Capitol building. Her fearlessness, her courage and her devotion to duty embody the very best of us,” Charles N. Davis, dean of Grady College, said. “The Dean’s Medal recognizes those who consistently go above and beyond to make Grady College shine. Caroline Edwards makes us all extremely proud.”
Officer Edwards is the first Dean’s Medalist recipient since 2017, when University of Georgia Broadcasting legend Loran Smith (ABJ ‘62) received the award.
“I’ve always had a lot of pride in my school and where I came from,” said Edwards. “When I was reached out to about this award, it was a surprise. I was extremely honored and extremely touched that the Grady community thinks I’m a good representation, because that’s all that I’ve tried to be.”
Officer Edwards graduated from Grady College with a degree in public relations, an education that she said has had a great impact on her life, largely by helping her effectively tell her story.
“The truth is so important,” said Edwards. “One part of the fight was on Jan. 6, but the other part of the fight was making sure the truth came out and that America was told my story, what I went through and what actually happened. And I think that Grady really taught me how to find that voice.”
Caroline Edwards honored by President Biden.
Officer Edwards is highly regarded for her courage, both on Jan. 6 and during the days before and after the historic event.
“Never underestimate yourself,” said Edwards. “Never underestimate what you’re capable of. If my 20-year-old self could see me as someone who spoke to 20 million people about something I did as a police officer, I don’t think she would recognize me.”
“You don’t have to have complete confidence or a lack of fear to be able to do something. You just have to do it,” she added. “Courage is not the absence of fear. Rather, it is the ability to know that something is more important.”
Officer Caroline Edwards will be awarded the Dean’s Medal at Grady Salutes on April 28, 2023, an evening also recognizing the 2023 class of inductees to the Grady Fellowship and the 2023 Alumni Award winners.
Tickets to Grady Salutes: Celebrating Achievement, Leadership and Commitment on April 28, 2023, are available for purchase. Register here.
The following is one installment of a series recognizing alumni and friends who will be honored at the 2023 Grady Salutes celebration on April 28, 2023. For more details, please see our posts about our Fellowship honorees, Alumni Award recipients and Dean’s Medalist.
Congratulations to Robin Hommel (ABJ ’96) who has been named to this year’s class of Grady Fellowship inductees.
Hommel pictured at a “Grady Greats” panel in 2019, held in collaboration with ABC News. She was the creator and executive producer of the series.
Hommel is a three-time Emmy Award-winning producer and showrunner whose career spans network news, daytime talk and primetime programming. She currently serves as the executive broadcast producer of the ABC News daytime talk show, “The View,” where she has worked since 2015. Prior to “The View,” Robin served as co-executive producer of VH1’s “Big Morning Buzz Live.” Hommel was the creator and executive producer of “Grady Greats,” a panel series in collaboration with ABC News featuring Grady College alumni, ABC talent and media leaders offering insight and analysis into and decisions made behind the scenes.
Hommel oversaw production of a months-long project in collaboration with the non-profit, “Homes for Our Troops,” which included building a custom home for injured veteran NAVY PO2 Timothy Birckhead. “This was one of the most meaningful projects I have ever had the privilege of working on,” Hommel said.
Following are excerpts from an interview with Hommel which have been minimally edited for length and clarity.
Hommel on set with “The View” co-host, Joy Behar, in celebration of her 80th birthday.
What class at Grady College did the most to prepare you for your current career?
There were two classes in particular that helped prepare me: communication law, taught by Professor William Lee, who presented “ripped from the headlines” First Amendment cases, which are still relevant to this day, and Allan MacLeod’s television production class, where I learned every job on the studio floor and in the control room. I booked and produced talk shows at Grady, which set me up for a career in daytime talk.
What experience during your time at Grady College had the biggest influence on where you are today?
DiGamma Kappa members attended a live taping of “The View” in February 2023. Members participated in a Q&A with Hommel and co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin.
The relationships made at Grady have been essential to my growth and success. As a member of DiGamma Kappa, I had the privilege of meeting award-winning journalists and media giants who generously shared their insight and advice. The dean’s office also connected me with alumni who became mentors and friends, including my ABC News colleague Deborah Roberts. That experience led to me to partner with Professors Dodie Cantrell and Parker Middleton on a panel series called “Grady Greats,” paying tribute to the trailblazers who opened doors for so many of us.
What skills and/or values and/or circumstances do you attribute to your success?
Curiosity, passion, and a little bit of chutzpah. Maintaining a sense of humor is essential. Without it, I would have died a thousand deaths.
What advice do you have for today’s young professionals?
Learn every job and make yourself indispensable. Consider the word “no” as a detour – not a dead end. Surround yourself with people who inspire you, elevate your work and believe in you.
Hommel has worked as a producer at the ABC News daytime talk show, “The View,” since 2015.
What do you miss the most about being at UGA?
I miss the beauty of the campus, the charm and laid-back vibe of Athens, and of course, the overwhelming excitement and bonding with thousands of strangers on game days- there is nothing like it!
What would you tell your 20-year-old self?
Hommel oversaw the production of building a custom home for injured veteran NAVY PO2 Timothy Birckhead. Here, she’s pictured in New Jersey for the reveal with Birckhead, Steph Curry, Whoopi Goldberg and Sara Haines.
Nothing about this will be easy. You’ll be tested and challenged in ways you never could have imagined. Take risks and use fear as a motivator. Relish your Grady ties and the gravitas that comes with it. You’ll make mistakes. Take three steps backwards before propelling forward, but nothing will come close to the highs you get from doing what you love and knowing you’re right where you should be.
What does this recognition mean to you?
This is a tremendous honor and one that furthers my commitment to giving back to the place that has left an indelible imprint. Thank you, Grady!
What motivates you?
Meeting extraordinary and unforgettable people who have entrusted me to share their stories fuels me. Working at a ground-breaking show, “The View”, created by broadcast icon, Barbara Walters is the pinnacle. I can’t think of anything more invigorating than being in the company of smart, fearless and influential women who speak truth to power every single day. The connections I made at UGA and the lessons I learned at Grady laid the foundation that allowed me to thrive both personally and professionally.
Tickets to Grady Salutes: Celebrating Achievement, Leadership and Commitment on April 28, 2023, are available for purchase. Register here.
An interview with Robin Hommel, Summer 2022, courtesy of the UGA Alumni Association
The following is one installment of a series recognizing alumni and friends who will be honored at the 2023 Grady Salutes celebration on April 28, 2023. For more details, please see our posts about our Fellowship honorees, Alumni Award recipients and Dean’s Medalist.
Hicks sporting her UGA sweatshirt on the set of “The Upshaws.”
Congratulations to Regina Hicks (ABJ ’85, MFA ’90) who has been named to this year’s class of Grady Fellowship inductees.
Hicks is a writer, producer and showrunner, working on some of the industry’s most popular series and made-for-TV movies. She is currently an executive producer and showrunner for “The Upshaws,” a sitcom she co-created that is launching its second season this year on Netflix.
Most recently, Hicks wrote and co-executive produced “The LWord – Next Gen,” a drama about lesbian women on Showtime and “Insecure,” on HBO. Previously, Hicks was part of the writing staff for the ABC sitcom “The Mayor” and NBC’s sitcom “Marlon.” Her writing credits also include “Girlfriends,” “Sherri,” “State of Georgia,” “Instant Mom” and the recent 2015 TV remake, “Uncle Buck.”
Hicks has co-scripted several made-for-TV movie including “Jump In,” “Camp Rock” and “Camp Rock 2” for the Disney Channel, as well as the “ Drumline 2 – A New Beat,” for VH1.
Hicks was the recipient of the King-Tisdell Cottage Foundation Fine Arts Award in Savannah, Georgia in 2007, and was nominated for an NAACP Image award for Outstanding Writing in a Comedy for “Girlfriends”and“Instant Mom.” She has also served as a governor for the Television Academy.
She graduated with a degree in telecommunications (now Entertainment and Media Studies) and returned to UGA a few years later to earn an MFA in drama.
Hicks is currently scripting the new “Sister Act 3” for Disney.
Following are rapid-fire answers to questions posed about her career journey:
Grady College: What class at Grady College did the most to prepare you for your current career?
Hicks (seated in center), with some of the writers of “Insecure.”
Regina Hicks: Screenwriting
GC: What experience during your time at Grady College had the biggest influence on where you are today?
RH: Dr. Barry Sherman suggested I write for TV.
GC: What skills and/or values and/or circumstances do you attribute to your success?
RH: Tenacity, Determination, Preparedness, Faith
GC: What advice do you have for today’s young professionals?
RH: Be ready. Be prepared for opportunities you may only get one that counts.
GC: What would you tell your 20-year-old self?
RH: Keep doing what you’re doing.
Tickets to Grady Salutes: Celebrating Achievement, Leadership and Commitment on April 28, 2023, are available for purchase. Register here.
Hicks (with back toward camera) talks with cast and crew on the set of “The Upshaws” in April 2022.
The following is one installment of a series recognizing alumni and friends who will be honored at the 2023 Grady Salutes celebration on April 28, 2023. For more details, please see our posts about our Fellowship honorees, Alumni Award recipients and Dean’s Medalist.
Group picture from 2001 of the research assistants in the Cox International Center, where Daniels worked as a graduate research associate.
In 2000-2001, Daniels served as the graduate student liaison for the AEJMC Media Management and Economics Division. The late Mary Alice Shaver presented the plaque honoring Daniels for his involvement as a graduate student.
Daniels with Professor Emerita Dr. C. Ann Hollifield, who served as his master’s thesis adviser, and Professor Emeritus Dr. Lee Becker, who was his dissertation chair.
As a graduate student, Daniels had the opportunity to lead workshop sessions during the Georgia Journalism Academy, which was sponsored by the Georgia Scholastic Press Association. This photo was taken from a broadcast writing session he facilitated.
In 2001, Daniels won the Lionel C. Barrow Minority Doctoral Scholarship from AEJMC.
Daniels with George Popescu from the University of Bucharest, who he met through work with the Cox International Center. Popescu spent three weeks at Grady in Summer of 2002.
Congratulations to George L. Daniels (MA ’99, PhD ’02), recipient of the 2023 Distinguished Alumni Scholar Award.
Daniels is an associate professor and Reese Phifer Fellow of Journalism and Creative Media at The University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. He is also currently the president of the Alabama Communication Association and serves as the Faculty Fellow for Diversity and Inclusion for the Broadcast Education Association.
Recently, he received the U.S./U.K. Fulbright Global Challenge Teaching Award for Racial Justice. He’s the co-editor of “Teaching Race: Struggles, Strategies and Scholarship for the Mass Communication Classroom.”
Daniels is currently completing his first sole-authored book entitled “Barrier Breakers: Media Educators Meeting the Diversity Challenge Across the Decades.”
Previously, Daniels worked for eight years as a local television news producer in his hometown of Richmond, Virginia, and then in Cincinnati, Ohio, and Atlanta.
Following are answers from an interview with Daniels, which have been edited for length and clarity.
Grady College: What experience during your time at Grady College had the biggest influence on where you are today?
In March 2023, Daniels joined two of his students in his Spring 2023 service learning class in presenting a panel at the Discerning Diverse Voices Symposium in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
George L. Daniels: By far, the experiences as a graduate research associate in two of Grady’s research projects have had the biggest influence on where I am today. As a master’s student, I was fortunate to be the research associate in the Michael J. Faherty Broadcast Management Laboratory.
When I arrived in 1997, the lab was just in its second year of operation. I learned how to do research projects by being directly involved in them. Additionally, the lab was tied to my teaching media management and programming course in what was then the Department of Telecommunications.
After completing my master’s degree, as a Ph.D. student, I was given a graduate research assistant assignment in the Cox Jr. Center for International Mass Communication Training and Research. Working for two years in the Cox International Center, I assisted with the Annual Surveys for Mass Communication Enrollments and Graduates. This placed me on the team to not only do data collection, but also participate in the presentations at national conferences. Even though the national surveys have moved to another institution, the reports we produced as a research team are still ones to which I refer in my research today.
GC: What skills and/or values and/or circumstances do you attribute to your success?
GD: The three skills or values that I most attribute to my success are, one, research project development, two, team leadership and, three, understanding higher education.
Thanks to the research assistant roles, I gained valuable knowledge as a Grady graduate student on how to put together a research project and use whatever method best answers my question.
The second skill/value would be team leadership. Over the years, I’ve found myself in leadership roles and draw on the skills I learned in the television news industry and in graduate school to influence others to follow my direction.
Last but not least, I developed skills in understanding the arena of academe. This is quite different from the television news industry, where I worked for eight years. Not all higher education institutions have the same mission, and the dynamics of committees and departments differ.
GC: What advice do you have for today’s Grady College students?
GD: Take advantage of the Grady alumni network. There are so many of us everywhere. We’re working in all areas of the mass media and journalism and mass communication education. Don’t take for granted the top-notch learning facilities and world class faculty you find in Grady College. It’s second to none. Appreciate it and know that with that opportunity comes an expectation to excel when you graduate. There is nothing you can’t accomplish as a Grady graduate.
GC: What advice do you have for today’s young professionals?
GD: Be flexible and teachable. Even though you have all of your training from Grady, our media workplaces are changing so rapidly, one has to be in a posture of readiness to adapt quickly to change.
GC: What do you miss the most about being at UGA?
GD: I miss many of the people with whom I worked and lived there in Athens. Except for my first year as a master’s student, I spent four of the five years in the master’s and Ph.D. programs living on campus. I was there around-the-clock and struck up so many informal conversations in the graduate student carrels of Grady or in the Main Library. I have fond memories of the Bible study groups on Friday night and the outreach to schools in the Clarke County School District. At UGA, we were truly a part of a much larger community than our own campus.
GC: What does this recognition mean to you?
GD: While I have been blessed to receive many research and teaching awards over the years, this recognition by Grady College is the highest honor I’ve received as a scholar.
Yes, I am the recipient most recently of an award from the U.S./U.K. Fulbright Commission. But, even a Fulbright award pales in comparison to one from my beloved Grady College. It means you view what I’ve become is worthy of recognition. It means what I’ve done so far in my research, teaching and professional leadership is on the right track—representing the highest standard of quality that comes with being a production of the Grady College.
GC: What motivates you?
GD: Of course, first and foremost, my actions are directly by my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. God put me on this earth to make a difference with every encounter, activity, project or accomplishment. Thus, I am motivated by the knowledge that I’m always fulfilling a God-given purpose.
I’m using my spiritual gift of teaching in an awesome way. I know that God so ordained and directed my steps to the Atlanta Metro area where, in the late 1990s, I discovered Grady College while working in the television news arena.
GC: Are there any books or podcasts that you would recommend to our students?
GD: Definitely every Grady student must read “In My Place” by Charlayne Hunter-Gault. As a master’s student in my first year, I read that 1992 book by the woman who was one of the two students to integrate the University of Georgia.
Tickets to Grady Salutes: Celebrating Achievement, Leadership and Commitment on April 28, 2023, are available for purchase. Register here.
The following is one installment of a series recognizing alumni and friends who will be honored at the 2023 Grady Salutes celebration on April 28, 2023. For more details, please see our posts about our Fellowship honorees, Alumni Award recipients and Dean’s Medalist.
Congratulations to Susan Percy (ABJ ’66) who has been named to this year’s class of Grady Fellowship inductees.
Percy is a journalist based in Atlanta and although she is now retired, she spent several years at Georgia Trend Magazine, serving 12 years as executive editor and editor and eight years as editor-at-large. She wrote an award-winning monthly opinion column for more than 20 years and remains a regular contributor.
Her work has been honored by the Society of Professional Journalists, the Alliance of Area Business Publications, the Atlanta Press Club, and the Magazine Association of the Southeast. She was inducted into the MAGS Hall of Fame in 2008 for her contributions to magazine journalism.
Susan Percy has interviewed many public figures throughout her career including President Jimmy Carter. (Photo: courtesy of Susan Percy)
Prior to Georgia Trend, she spent eight years at Atlanta Magazine as senior editor and managing editor and worked a brief time as managing editor of Arthritis Today. She has worked for newspapers in Louisiana and California, and her freelance work has appeared in numerous publications including USA Today, The Reader’s Digest and Georgia Magazine.
Percy has served on the Grady Alumni Board, and is a member of the Atlanta Press Club and the Emory University Ethics Center Media Advisory Council.
She was married to the late author Paul Hemphill who served as a Grady Journalist-in-Residence in the early 1970s. She lives in Decatur, conveniently close to her daughter, Martha Hemphill Barbieri, son-in-law, and two grandchildren.
Some of Percy’s writing can be found on her website.
Following are excerpts from an interview with Percy which have been minimally edited for length and clarity.
Grady College: What experience at Grady College did the most to prepare you for your career?
Susan Percy: The whole package. The combination of classes and professors and opportunities, including working on the Red & Black, which was under Grady’s auspices when I was there, but is an independent publication now. I learned how to be a journalist, and even though the profession has changed in ways I could never have imagined, the basic writing, reporting, and interviewing skills I developed and refined taught me to think like a journalist and provided the foundation for accommodating and adapting to the changes—and, in many cases, welcoming them.
When I started college, the conventional wisdom was that young women, whatever their course of study, should get a teaching certificate, “just in case,” even if you weren’t interested in being a teacher. But I never heard that at Grady. I was treated as a serious journalist from Day One and encouraged and supported in my choice of a profession.
GC: What advice do you have for today’s Grady College students?
Susan Percy wrote a feature about the Peabody Awards for Georgia Trend in 2016 and covered the awards ceremony in New York. (Photo: Sarah E. Freeman)
SP: Take advantage of everything that is here. You may never again have such ready access to so many opportunities—publications, labs, technology, innovative projects, mentorships, internships, and dedicated faculty members and fellow students to advise and support you.
Embrace the diversity and inclusion that is now part of Grady and will continue to be; it is enriching the offerings and areas of study available to you as well as the journalism profession itself.
Take a risk. Try something that intimidates you a little and draw on all the people who are ready to help you.
GC: What would you tell your 20-year-old self?
SP: Breathe. Benefit from and learn from all your professional experiences, but try to take the long view, as well. Throughout your career, you will have some disappointments and setbacks. That’s part of it. Even your dream job will have some tough days, but don’t give up and don’t doubt yourself. If you need to make a change, in your job or your career trajectory or even the way you approach your work, do it thoughtfully and gracefully.
GC: What does this recognition mean to you?
SP: It is the most significant—and surprising—professional honor I have ever had.
I have been a working journalist, with a couple of brief detours, for more than 50 years; and I am happy to say I am not done yet. I am still working. I have had an interesting and varied career, with ups and downs and some successes. But I am not a big name. I’ve never won a Pulitzer. I’ve never owned a publication or a media company. I’ve always answered to someone else.
I think there are a lot of working journalists like me—we work hard, but we don’t call all the shots. We care about what we are doing. We do it with dedication and resolve and integrity; we believe our work is important. Yet there are times when we wonder if it matters, if anyone notices. This recognition from Grady tells me that it does matter, that people notice the effort that so many journalists make. That every fact you triple-check, every word choice you agonize over, every extra effort you make is important. And it does count.
I am very grateful to Grady College for this honor.
GC: What motivates you?
SP: I’ve reached the age where I should probably be knitting afghans or baking cookies for my grandchildren, but I value the opportunity to continue to do the work I love—at a slower pace, perhaps.
I believe the work of journalists and communicators is more important than ever. The changes that have come to our profession have been both challenging and exciting; but the work we do is crucial. And it is so important for us to do it well, to use all the resources we have to communicate with accuracy, honesty, intelligence, and integrity. And to enjoy doing it.
Susan Percy shows her College spirit for the Grady College Centennial celebration in 2015, while Dean John Drewry looks on from a framed portrait. (Photo: Sarah E. Freeman)
Tickets to Grady Salutes: Celebrating Achievement, Leadership and Commitment on April 28, 2023, are available for purchase. Register here.
Grady College proudly announces four honorees who will be inducted into the Grady Fellowship this year.
Grady Fellowship honorees for 2023 include:
Regina Hicks (ABJ ’85, MFA ’90)
Robin Hommel (ABJ ’96)
Susan Percy (ABJ ’66)
Randy Travis (ABJ ’82)
The Grady Fellowship honors friends of the college whose accomplishments, friendship and service to the industries they serve have made a positive impact on Grady College.
The 2023 recipient of the John Holliman Lifetime Achievement Alumni Award, Doreen Gentzler (ABJ ’79), will be inducted into the Fellowship, as well.
Caroline Edwards (ABJ ’12), a U.S. Capitol police officer who responded to the Jan. 6 attacks, has been named the Dean’s Medal for Leadership Excellence recipient, the College’s highest honor.
Private First Class Officer Caroline Edwards, a public relations major and current U.S. Capitol Police Officer, will be awarded the Dean’s Medal at Grady Salutes.
The induction of Fellows and recognition of Edwards takes place along with the presentation of 2023 Alumni Awards on April 28 at Grady Salutes.
Grady College looks forward to celebrating the Fellowship inductees:
Regina Hicks has spent her career writing for television. She is currently an executive producer and showrunner for “The Upshaws,” a sitcom on Netflix that she created. She is also a writer and co-executive producer of “The LWord – Next Generation” on Showtime, and “Insecure,” on HBO. Other writing credits include “The Mayor,” “Marlon,” Girlfriends,” and several made-for-TV movies including Jump In and Camp Rock for the Disney Channel.
Robin Hommel is a three-time Emmy Award-winning producer and showrunner whose career spans network news, daytime talk and primetime programming. She currently serves as the executive broadcast producer of the ABC News daytime talk show, “The View,” where she has worked since 2015. Prior to “The View,” Robin served as co-executive producer of VH1’s “Big Morning Buzz Live.” Hommel was the creator and executive producer of “Grady Greats,” a panel series in collaboration with ABC News featuring Grady College alumni, ABC talent and media leaders offering insight and analysis into and decisions made behind the scenes.
Susan Percy is a Metro Atlanta-based journalist who has spent most of her career in magazine journalism. She was executive editor and editor of Georgia Trend Magazine from 2001 through 2013 and editor-at-large from 2014 through 2022. She wrote an award-winning monthly opinion column for more than 20 years and remains a regular contributor.
Randy Travis is a Peabody Award-winning investigative reporter for FOX 5 Atlanta. Randy joined WAGA in 1990. In 1994 he moved to the station’s distinguished investigative unit, the FOX 5 I-Team. In addition to the Peabody Award, Randy’s investigative work has earned him two national Edward R. Murrow awards, plus more than 20 regional Emmy awards. Travis is also the recipient of the 2005 Mid-Career Alumni Award from Grady College.
Dean Charles Davis is also pleased to recognize Caroline Edwards as a Dean’s Medalist. The last Dean’s Medal was presented to Loran Smith (ABJ ’62) in 2017.
Caroline Edwards is a Private First Class Officer with the U.S. Capitol Police. Her law enforcement career started in 2017 and she has served for six years on the Department’s First Responders Unit. On January 6, 2021, Officer Edwards was the first police officer injured by the rioters while stationed on the West Front of the Capitol. She was knocked unconscious and suffered a traumatic brain injury. On June 9, 2022, Officer Edwards testified to the January 6th House Select Committee. She graduated from Grady College with a degree in public relations.
More information about the Grady Fellowship and a list of past inductees can be viewed on the Grady Fellowship webpage.
The registration link for the Grady Salutes celebration on April 28, 2023, will be available in early March.
Maura Friedman accepts her John E. Drewry Young Alumni Award. (Photo: Sarah E. Freeman)
