School of Communication & Journalism
Graduate Awards

The graduate faculty of the School of Communication and Journalism recognizes outstanding graduate students with several awards: the Bert Bradley Award, the Frank B. Davis Graduate Student Service Award, the Susan L. Brinson Teaching Assistant Award and the Gayle K. Christopher Scholarship.

A call for nominations is sent out by the Graduate Program Director. The winners are chosen by the Graduate Awards Committee, a subcommittee of the School's Scholarships and Awards Committee. This subcommittee is chaired by the Graduate Program Director. Nominations are reviewed by the committee and the winner is chosen by a majority vote of the committee members.

Award winners are recognized at the School's spring awards ceremony. Each winner receives a certificate of recognition as well as a monetary award.

Description of Awards

The oldest and most prestigious of our graduate student awards, the Bert Bradley Award recognizes students who are outstanding in teaching, research and service. It is awarded to graduate students who have the best GPAs, have worked to present and publish their research, are excellent teachers, and provide service to the School. The Bert Bradley Award has been awarded since 1990.

The Frank B. Davis Graduate Student Service Award goes to graduate students who distinguish themselves by taking initiative and exceeding expectations in service to School faculty. These students often assist with conference planning, classes, film festivals or other School projects and initiatives. This is named in honor of Dr. Frank B. Davis, the first Chair of the Division of Speech at Auburn University in 1948, and as the inaugural Head of the Department from 1956 to 1973.

The Susan L. Brinson Teaching Assistant Award, in honor of Professor Emerita Susan L. Brinson, goes to the teaching assistant who exemplifies the very best in teaching from among our many great graduate teaching assistants. The award is based on student evaluations and faculty observations.

The Gayle K. Christopher Scholarship is presented to a student with an excellent GPA who has established an interest in health and/or science communication. Winners typically plan to either work in a health or science field, or continue their graduate education in health or science communication. Gayle Christopher endowed this scholarship because she believes, "It is crucial that those communicating scientific and technological principles to the public have greater grounding, understanding and passion for those subjects."

Award Recipients