Benoit Denizet-Lewis, an associate professor at Emerson College and a longtime contributing writer with The New York Times Magazine, was awarded a 2022 New America fellowship. He will work on a new book, “We Don’t Know You Anymore,” about people who experience significant shifts to an identity or belief system.
Juliana Tafur was selected as a Obama Foundation Scholar for the 2021-2022 academic year at Columbia University. She will join 11 other rising leaders from the United States and around the world who are already making a difference in their communities.
Juliana was chosen for designing and implementing a listening methodology to inspire positive dialogue across differences and foster human connection, following the production of her award-winning documentary List(e)n.
Her film brings together Americans with opposing viewpoints and facilitates opportunities for them to connect across their differences. Inspired by the documentary, she created Listen Courageously, a workshop series providing tools for participants to engage in heart-centered dialogue.
She runs Story Powerhouse, a professional and social development organization that uses film to cultivate understanding. Her workshops have built bridges at corporate settings, academic institutions and non-profit organizations, guiding participants in empathic listening.
Lori Montgomery was named Business Editor of The Washington Post, leading a rapidly expanding staff that covers the national economy, economic policy and the tech industry. Lori joined The Post in 2000, and most recently served as deputy National Editor.
Gregor Gilliom (MSJ ’90) is owner and editorial director of Versatile Words (www.versatilewords.com), a writing and content strategy practice that serves countless regional and national brands, including NetJets, Nationwide, JPMorganChase, and Target. Founded in 2005, Versatile Words has won dozens of awards for copywriting and creative collaboration, and Gregor recently received the Ed Grauer Leadership Award, the highest honor given by Columbus Society of Communication Arts, the region’s leading creative industry organization.
Prior to his work with Versatile Words, he worked for eight years in magazine editorial, including titles based in Chicago, San Francisco, Madison, and Columbus, Ohio, where he served as founding editor of Columbus CEO magazine. He and his family live in Upper Arlington, a suburb of Columbus.
Debbie Cassell is senior associate director of marketing and communications for alumni relations and development at Northwestern University. In her spare time, she is president of the Evanston Community Tennis Association. Debbie also was producer of the Woman’s Club of Evanston’s 68th Annual Revue, “Singin’ in the Game,” an evening of musical comedy that raised funds for Girls Play Sports, a local nonprofit; Debbie wrote several song parodies—on topics such as commonly mispronounced words, sports bras and presidential tweets—for the benefit show, in addition to directing and performing.
Meribah Knight won a 2021 Peabody award for the second season of her podcast, The Promise. The series, reported and hosted by Meribah, tells the story of two neighborhood schools divided by race and economics: one almost entirely Black and low-income, the other almost all white and well off.
Meribah is a senior reporter/producer of special projects with Nashville Public Radio. She lives in Nashville with her husband, a photojournalist at the Tennessean, their 2-year-old son and the family’s five cats.
This international award is open to university faculty and marketing professionals who have demonstrated excellence in teaching the principles of IMC and bridging the gap between the academic and commercial arenas.
Nominations and applications for the award are being accepted now through Oct. 29.
A committee of Medill faculty and industry experts will review nominations this fall. The winner will receive a cash prize of $5,000 and give a presentation on their work in Spring 2022.
The award is named for long-time Medill Professor Don Schultz. Schultz played a pivotal role in creating the field of Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) and establishing the IMC department at Medill in the early 1990s. Medill was the first school to offer a graduate degree in Integrated Marketing Communications in the United States. Schultz is regarded internationally as the “father of IMC.” He died in 2020.
“Marketing scholars from all over the world who are developing new customer-centric frameworks and using novel technologies to communicate with customers, society and even whole markets to drive financial performance are encouraged to apply for this award,” said Vijay Viswanathan, Medill professor and associate dean of IMC. “We believe the award will help bring together IMC teachers, scholars and practitioners from around the world, and it will highlight the best practices in IMC and serve as an authoritative learning forum for the global IMC community.”
Schultz advocated for a marketing communication strategy that began with the customer’s perspective, that adopted a holistic view of media and communications planning across various channels and which could be linked to performance in the marketplace. This was a significant change from the dominant communication paradigms at that time where public relations, direct marketing and brand management efforts were disjointed and often with little or no accountability.
Marketers all over the world heeded his call and agencies and companies set up whole IMC departments.
While IMC like other fields has evolved, the core principles that Schultz espoused remain fundamental to the study and practice of IMC even today. Those principles include:
The winner will be selected by a committee that includes Jeanie Caggiano, EVP/executive creative director at Leo Burnett; Judy Franks, Medill assistant professor; Tariq Hassan, chief marketing and digital experience officer at McDonald’s; and Shekar Swamy, group CEO of RK Swamy BBDO.
To nominate someone for the Schultz Award, please visit this application. Additionally, individuals may nominate themselves for the award and submit letters of support from colleagues. The winner and finalists will be announced in January.
Alisa Parenti (COMM87, MSJ88)
In this historical fiction novel, Parenti takes readers from the tenement halls of the Lower East Side to the walls of Sing Sing as the United States is engulfed by the “Red Scare.” Ethel, the first woman on death row for conspiracy to commit espionage, speaks with Mary Wurth, a young reporter from Queens looking to prove her worth. With the world divided on whether Ethel should live or die, Mary struggles to understand what it means to be an American, and is enamored with the prospect of seeing the true Ethel.
BETRAYAL explores issues deeply impacting our world today, such as the unequal treatment of women, the debate on capitalism versus socialism, and growing nationalism around the globe. Ultimately, this book asks readers what it really means to betray – or to be betrayed.
Parenti is an award-winning broadcast journalist, reporter, and anchor. She has also served as an adjunct faculty member at Georgetown University teaching multimedia journalism and news writing. She and her husband, Jim (MSJ 88), reside in Washington, DC.
Saumya Roy (MSJ02)
“Castaway Mountain” is a narrative non fiction book on the Deonar garbage mountains of Mumbai and the waste pickers who live off them. It follows the life of Farzana Shaikh, a teenaged waste picker, over eight years as she found toys, snacks, jeans, friends and love on these mountains. Among the most fearless pickers in her community, Farzana works on, looking for forgotten treasures amid the trash even as the mountains make her sicker. Through her, Castaway Mountain tells a story of overconsumption, pollution, climate change and how the poor and marginalized face the brunt of it all.
Farzana’s story is interspersed with that of a court case to close down the garbage mountains- one that has stretched on for three decades, while the mountains have only grown taller, erupted in fires and spewed noxious air. Castaway Mountains is about the unspoken trauma of living in places like this and how this trauma is expressed through ancient myths pickers have heard of, through their scarred bodies and how it lingers, subconsciously, in their minds. It is a beautiful story of light and life amidst darkness, one that will grip readers and move them.
Todd Melby (MSJ87)
The true story of the Coen Brothers’ epic film of murder, mayhem, and malfeasance on the frozen landscapes of Minneapolis and North Dakota, offering an inside look into what Roger Ebert called “one of the best films I’ve ever seen.”
Library Journal’s verdict: “Much like the movie it dissects, this book is quirky and intelligent, with surprising revelations. A treat for cinephiles and fans of the Coen brothers.”
“A Lot Can Happen in the Middle of Nowhere” features a foreword by William H. Macy, dissects actor audition tapes, early versions of the script, and much more.