NU professor tallies third award from American Journalism Historians Association

Carrie Teresa, Ph.D., will soon complete her second semester as an assistant professor of communication studies at Niagara University. When she does, Teresa will have already won three prestigious awards from the American Journalism Historians Association, following Thursday's announcement she was selected for the 2015 Margaret A. Blanchard Doctoral Dissertation Prize.

Teresa's winning dissertation, "Looking at the Stars: The Black Press, African American Celebrity Culture, and Critical Citizenship in Early Twentieth Century America, 1895-1935," examined how African-American journalists and editors writing at the height of Jim Crow-ism covered celebrity culture and how this coverage was connected to the fight for civil rights.

The AJHA grants the annual award to the best doctoral dissertation dealing with mass communication history completed during the prior calendar year. The prize has been awarded since 1997. Teresa will receive $500 and a plaque during the 2015 AJHA national convention in Oklahoma City in October.

In October, a paper co-authored by Teresa was named Best Graduate Student Paper, and also won the J. William Snodgrass Award for Outstanding Research on a Minorities Topic.

"I extend congratulations to Carrie on behalf of Niagara University's College of Arts and Sciences," said Dr. Tim Ireland, dean of the college. "We were confident that we were adding an outstanding scholar and teacher when Carrie joined Niagara, and her accomplishments have confirmed our assessment. We are all quite proud of her."

Teresa holds a bachelor's degree (English) from Villanova University, a master's degree (liberal arts) from the University of Pennsylvania and a doctorate (media and communications) from Temple. She also participated in an international studies program at Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland.

Founded in 1981, the American Journalism Historians Association seeks to advance education and research in mass communication history. Members work to raise historical standards and ensure all scholars and students recognize the vast importance of media history and apply this knowledge to the advancement of society. For more information on the AJHA, visit www.ajhaonline.org.

For more information on Niagara University's communication studies programs, visit www.niagara.edu/communication.

Carrie Teresa