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N.C. A&T’s Department of Journalism and Mass Communication to Honor First Hall of Fame Inductees

10/26/2022 College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, Journalism and Mass Communication

EAST GREENSBORO, N.C. (Oct. 26, 2022) – Seven distinguished alumni and servant leaders will become the first Department of Journalism and Mass Communication (JOMC) Hall of Fame inductees Friday, Oct. 28, during a 10:30 a.m. ceremony in the General Classroom Building Auditorium. A reception will follow the induction ceremony in Crosby Hall Room 217. The department plans to make the Hall of Fame induction an annual event during Homecoming week.

“This is a long overdue activity. As longtime faculty members retire and new faculty come aboard, we must never lose sight of the history and legacy of achievement that have come to define this department,” said Robbie Morganfield, Ph.D., JOMC chair. “To celebrate outstanding alums, as well as those who have served the unit with distinction, helps to keep all who studied and worked in our hallowed hallways connected.

“It also gives honor that is deserved while serving as points of inspiration for current and future students. It reminds them in another way of what is possible when you commit to a path and constantly show up as your best self.”

The five alumni initiates, who graduated during the 1970s and 1980s, are:

  • Gail Boone Wiggins, who retired in July after 38 years of service to the department. She served with great distinction in various roles, including several as interim chair, and won national recognition for her teaching and leadership.
  • Nagatha Tonkins, a broadcast journalist who also is credited for distinguished service to the department.
  • Bonnie Newman Davis, a distinguished award-winning journalist who is managing editor of the Richmond (Virginia) Free Press. She also served as an endowed professor in JOMC.
  • Anthony “Tony B.” Welborne, who established the university’s radio station, WNAA FM, during a career that has spanned 50 years. He continues to serve as a lecturer and station manager.
  • Sandra Hughes, Ph.D., a trailblazing broadcast journalist in Triad and beyond, who also served the department with distinction.

Those being inducted into the JOMC Leadership and Service Hall of Fame are non-alumi:

  • Linda Florence Callahan, Ph.D., a longtime professor in the department, who served as chair during a career that includes distinguished accomplishments as a scholar and teacher. She held various positions in national journalism and mass communication organizations and won various awards.
  • D. Cherie Lofton will be honored posthumously for outstanding service to WNAA and the department.

Media Contact Information: jicrockett@ncat.edu

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