COLLEGE PARK -- The University of Maryland Philip Merrill College of Journalism has established the Merrill College Hall of Fame to honor its most celebrated alumni and faculty, with the first class to be inducted during the Spring 2022 semester, Dean Lucy Dalglish announced Wednesday.
The inductees will be immortalized with plaques in the atrium at Knight Hall. The project was made possible with the support of alum Ralph Crosby ’56, who is also a member of the inaugural class.
“Merrill College’s graduates have distinguished themselves in news reporting, foreign correspondence, broadcasting, newsroom leadership, marketing, communications, advertising and a host of entrepreneurial endeavors,” Dalglish said. “We are grateful to Ralph Crosby for a gift that will allow us to honor outstanding alumni for decades to come.”
The first Hall of Fame class will include the 12 Merrill graduates who were previously honored as Distinguished Alumni by the UMD Alumni Association, as well as a selection of nominees who will be chosen by the college’s new Hall of Fame committee.
The full inaugural class will be announced in January 2022, and an event to honor the class will be held during the Spring 2022 semester. Details will be announced at a later date.
The Hall of Fame committee will consist of two members of the Journalism Alumni Network board, two Board of Visitors members, two faculty members and two current students (one undergraduate and one graduate). Nominations will be open to the public, who have until Dec. 10 to submit alumni recommendations through this form.
Alumni honorees must be graduates of Merrill College or any of its predecessor colleges or departments at the University of Maryland, including the College of Arts and Humanities’ Radio, Television and Film program that was absorbed into Merrill.
Induction into the Hall of Fame recognizes an alumni honoree’s lifetime professional achievement in their chosen field. No nominee will be considered until at least 15 years have passed since their graduation from the university (10 years in the case of master’s or Ph.D. graduates).
Faculty honorees must have been full-time for a minimum of 10 years. Faculty may only be inducted into the Hall of Fame after they have retired. A maximum of one faculty member may be recognized each year.
Alumni and faculty honorees may be selected posthumously. There is no minimum number of honorees to be selected in a given year, but after the inaugural class, a maximum of five may be chosen each year.
UMD Alumni Association Distinguished Alumni from Merrill College to be inducted into Hall of Fame:
2016 - Adam Ostrow ’04
2013 - Mi-Ai Parrish ’92
2012 - Lori Beecher ’87
2011 - Amal Mudallali, Ph.D. ’97
2009 - Mei Xu, M.A. ’92
2008 - Connie Chung ’69
2007 - Emory K. Kristof ’64
2006 - Jay A. Kernis ’74
2005 - Ralph W. Crosby ’56
2004 - DeWayne Wickham ’74
2003 - Jane Healy ’71
2001 - Jerome M. Ceppos ’69
For more information, contact:
Josh Land
joshland@umd.edu
301-405-1321