Tag: Myra Blackmon AdPR Academy for Diversity and Inclusion

2022 in Review: Service & Partnerships

Posted on by Jackson Schroeder

Editor’s Note: This is part of our six-part series highlighting stories produced by Grady College in 2022. The features include stories in each of the following subjects:

  • Student Successes
  • Faculty Honors
  • College Headlines
  • Research & Expertise
  • Service & Partnerships
  • Alumni Spotlight

This is not intended to be a comprehensive list, but instead highlight a sample of just a few of the hundreds of stories about accomplishments by our students, faculty/staff and alumni. We invite you to visit our Grady College News page for a full list of features posted in 2022.

  • Grady College was named one of the nation's first four solutions journalism hubs
    Grady College was named one of the nation's first four solutions journalism hubs
 


Service and outreach, often through partnerships with organizations and other units at the University of Georgia, are pillars of what we do at Grady College. Adding to our long list, the following are a few examples of how Grady College expanded our service and outreach efforts in 2022: 

Grady College was named one of the nation’s first four solutions journalism hubs: In early August, The Solutions Journalism Network (SJN) named Grady one of the nation’s four inaugural solutions journalism hubs. This announcement designated Grady as a leader in the field and tasked the College with continuing to advance research and practice of solutions journalism, which is focused on rigorously reporting on responses to social problems, and function as a resource for students and professionals in the field. In an interview with the Grady Research Radio podcast, Grady College faculty members and solutions journalism scholars Dr. Amanda Bright, Dr. Kyser Lough, and Ralitsa Vassileva further explained what the designation means.

The Cox Center welcomed groups of foreign journalists: This year, the James M. Cox Jr. Center for International Mass Communication Training and Research welcomed more than 20 early-to-mid-career journalists from the country Georgia to Grady College to take classes in the area of digital media. Only a few months later, the center hosted seven career journalists from Sri Lanka at the College, where they spent the day touring facilities and taking classes on digital media and journalism in the United States. And in November, 17 international journalists from countries around the world, including Australia, Taiwan, South Korea, Sri Lanka and the Philippines, just to name several, visited Grady College through the Murrow Fellows program. 

AdPR Academy was revamped and renamed: The six-year-old educational outreach program, AdPR Academy, was revamped and renamed the Myra Blackmon AdPR Academy for Diversity and Inclusion, following a generous gift from long-time communications professional and former Grady College public relations instructor Myra Blackmon. The Academy is designed to amplify the power of diversity, equity and inclusion while growing the pipeline of diverse advertising and public relations professionals. Over the course of four days, students in the program receive over 35 hours of training and mentoring by experts working in the advertising and public relations industries, participate in daily networking opportunities with corporate executives and agency professionals, and compete in teams representing real-life clients.

AdPR Academy renamed, revamped after gift from Myra Blackmon

Posted on by Jackson Schroeder

Quote card that reads " “For communications professionals to be truly effective, they have to reflect their varied audiences. A visceral understanding of our diverse audiences requires constant commitment. I am proud to be able to support such an effort through the college that has been such an important part of my life since 1969!”AdPR Academy of Grady College’s Department of Advertising and Public Relations has changed its name to the Myra Blackmon AdPR Academy for Diversity and Inclusion.

The six-year-old educational outreach program is designed to amplify the power of diversity, equity and inclusion while growing the pipeline of diverse advertising and public relations professionals. This year’s Academy will happen in Atlanta from Nov. 9-13. 

Myra Blackmon (ABJ ’72, M.Ed ’08) has enjoyed a long and varied career in industry and nonprofit organizations. For many years, she owned M. Blackmon Public Relations in Athens, serving a diverse clientele in finance, food products, health care, public affairs and fundraising. She and her husband, the late Dr. Thomas P. Holland, consulted internationally on management and governance of nonprofit organizations. Blackmon also taught public relations courses in Grady College’s AdPR Department for several years. 

“For communications professionals to be truly effective, they have to reflect their varied audiences,” said Blackmon. “A visceral understanding of our diverse audiences requires constant commitment. I am proud to be able to support such an effort through the college that has been such an important part of my life since 1969!”

Students in the Academy receive over 35 hours of training and mentoring by experts working in the advertising and public relations industries, participate in daily networking opportunities with corporate executives and agency professionals, and compete in teams representing real-life clients for cash prizes. 

“We truly appreciate Myra’s generosity,” said Dr. Juan Meng, Head of the Department of Advertising and Public Relations. “Her commitment in advancing diversity and inclusion plays a huge role in supporting the success of this program.” 

This year, Grady College invited partner institutions Albany State University, Clemson University, Georgia State University, Florida A&M University, Howard University, Kennesaw State University, Tuskegee University and the University of South Carolina to hand-select cohorts of their own students to participate in the program. Interested students not attending one of the partner institutions were invited to apply directly.

Myra Blackmon teaching a class at Grady College.
Myra Blackmon teaching at Grady College. (Photo: Sarah Freeman)

“It’s really about creating and amplifying the importance of diversity and building a pipeline with a particular focus on students of color,” said DeShele Taylor, Director of the Myra Blackmon AdPR Academy for Diversity and Inclusion. “We’ve really seen a nice rippling effect of the benefits of this program. Everyone who has gone through this program has said that they feel they have a clear pathway forward.”

 Over its history, the program has graduated 99 students from 21 U.S. colleges and universities. Many of the program’s alumni have stayed in the fields of advertising and public relations, working for agencies, corporations or nonprofits. Several have gone on to pursue advanced degrees before launching their careers. 

In years past, the AdPR Academy happened in the spring. This year, however, the program will run in the fall, giving students the opportunity to put the experience on their resumes before submitting applications to competitive summer internships and jobs.

“The Department of Modern Languages, Communication, and Philosophy at Tuskegee University is excited to have our Communication majors as part of AdPR Academy,” said Dr. Adaku T. Ankumah, chair of the aforementioned department. “The goal of advancing diversity is in line with the University’s mission of being a center of diversity and its strategic goals for the next five years. In addition, we seek strategic partnerships that will provide our students with hands-on experiences, so they are ready for the job market. We look forward to the opportunities that will open for them from this collaboration.”

Mira Lowe, Dean of the School of Journalism & Graphic Communications at Florida A&M University, added: “We are excited to work with AdPR Academy at the University of Georgia in helping to close the diversity gap in the advertising and public relations industries. Our partnership will open new doors to our PR students seeking career opportunities and connections in various professional networks. This collaboration with UGA enables us to expand the professional development of our students in a consequential way.”