A University of Louisiana at Lafayette communication professor has earned national recognition by his peers.
Dr. William Davie will receive the 2013 Edward L. Bliss Award for Distinguished Broadcast Journalism Education in August. It is presented annually by the Electronic News Division of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication to recognize significant and lasting contributions to the field in the areas of teaching, scholarship and service.
“The Bliss Award recognizes the nation's top broadcast educator, and Dr. Davie deserves this recognition,” said Dr. T. Michael Maher, head of the University’s Department of Communication. “Bill Davie has written nationally distributed textbooks on broadcasting and media law; he is a well-published scholar who has held national leadership roles in scholarly organizations; and his undergraduate and graduate students have distinguished themselves at the highest levels of competition.”
Davie is coordinator of the University’s Mass Communication/Broadcast Program and holds the Board of Regents Support Fund Professorship in Communication. He served as interim department chair and is a past graduate coordinator.
In 2012, Davie’s students’ radio production, “Louisiana Focus,” was named the Best All-Around Newscast in the 2012 Society of Professional Journalism Mark of Excellence Award competition. Also, one of his students placed first in radio news competition in the Southeast Journalism Conference.
Davie has served as division head of the Electronic News Division of AEJMC as well as the News Division of the Broadcast Education Association. He has been the AEJMC liaison with the Radio Television Digital News Association.
The Bliss Award is named for Edward L. Bliss, a long-time writer, producer and editor for CBS News. He was known for his work with Edward R. Murrow and Walter Cronkite; he ended his career as an educator at American University in Washington, D.C.