Wake Forest Magazine's Maria Henson speaks at Pulitzer event
Wake Forest Magazine editor-at-large, journalism lecturer and associate vice president Maria Henson (’82) recently spoke at the Pulitzer Centennial Celebration at Harvard University (video).
Henson is Wake Forest’s only Pulitzer Prize winner. She won in 1992 for a series of investigative editorials on domestic violence while at the Lexington Herald-Leader (Ky.). In 2005, she edited a series on Yosemite National Park in The Sacramento Bee (Ca.) that won for editorial writing. In 1993-94, Henson was a Nieman Fellow at Harvard.
In a powerful 11-minute speech before more than 1,000 people, she recalled the impact of “To Have and to Harm,” a yearlong series of 30 editorials that made recommendations for improved response and protections for battered women in Kentucky. In 1992, the Kentucky state legislature passed every aspect of domestic violence reform the Lexington Herald-Leader editorial board recommended and the courts changed their practices as well.
“All these years later, at a time of such discouragement and disenchantment over our public life, I look back and remember the power of the press and ordinary citizens to effect change – both of them out of a love of community and a passion for fairness. And all these years later, I have not given up on what is possible,” Henson said.
Henson was inducted into the Wake Forest University Writers Hall of Fame this year, in conjunction with Words Awake 2! Read an Inside WFU interview with her commemorating that occasion.
Categories: Faculty News, Staff News
Creative excellence earns WFU 8 Gold Awards from CASE
“Voices of Our Time – Ta’Nehisi Coates” poster won the Grand Gold Award.
Wake Forest continues to raise the bar of creative excellence for best practices in advancement, winning eight varying Gold Awards in the annual 2016 Circle of Excellence awards program sponsored by The Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE).
Wake Forest Magazine received the Gold Award in the General Interest Magazines category, circulation 37,000+. “Wake Forest obviously is doing everything right … someone here is thinking about how images enhance storytelling – something we wished we had seen in more magazines.”
The magazine also won the Gold Award in the category Staff Periodicals Writing. The entry included “The Hidden Gym,” “Family Trees” and “Inside Pitch” by managing editor Cherin C. Poovey; “Look at Her Now” by Maria Henson, associate vice president and editor-at-large; and “Real-Life Drama” by senior editor Kerry M. King.
The judges noted: “This publication truly sets the gold standard for alumni magazines that aspire to inform, affirm, entertain and engage. Each story was allowed to develop and fully engage the reader.”
The Communications and External Relations team received a total of six Gold Awards for a range of creative work in varying categories.
For the Multi-page Publication which had 94 entries, the team won the Grand Gold Award for “iPlace Viewbook” which was noted for its “edgy, outside the box, design” and use of bold colors. “The combination of photography and line drawing to provide visual explanation was very well done,” noted the judges.
In the Posters category with 32 entries, the Grand Gold Award was achieved for “Voices of Our Time – Ta’Nehisi Coates” which was, according to judges’ comments, an “overwhelming favorite.” The entry was described as “compelling,” “stunning” and “a rare design that goes beyond its intended project or purpose and creates additional rich communication opportunities.”
In the Specialty Pieces category with 49 entries, the team won the Gold Award for the “Demon Deacon Playing Cards,” for an “unusual and irresistible annual fund campaign.” The cards were described as “beautiful and fun, with quality typography and a restrained black-and-gold color palette highlighted by pops of silver and gold foil on the card packaging. The judges kept returning to this entry, wanting to handle the cards and keep flipping through.”
A Grand Gold Award was received in the Annual Giving Programs category out of 38 entries for “Naming Rights for the Rest of Us,” a campaign created to celebrate the donors whose smaller annual gifts make a big difference. The judges said: “The institution took items from around campus that held significance and offered exclusive naming rights for several lucky donors – items like the telephone of the man who makes the call when classes are canceled due to weather, the leaf blower that always seems to be operating outside a dorm window at 7am, and the skillet of a legendary campus chef.”
Out of 51 entries in the Annual Reports & Fund Reports, Wake won the Gold Award for “Year Two,” which judges described as a “daring departure from the standard cookie-cutter annual report. The design was modern and accessible and the narrative compelling.”
For the Viewbooks and Prospectuses (Print) category, which had 52 entries, the University won the Gold Award for the “Admissions Viewbook.” Judges noted that the entry “created a tone and visual energy that could provide answers to prospective students in ways that conjure the student experience.”
The awards competition received 3,356 entries for consideration in nearly 100 categories from more than 713 higher education institutions, independent schools and affiliated organizations located worldwide.
CASE is one of the largest international associations of education institutions with more than 3,600 member colleges and universities and honors outstanding work in advancement services, alumni relations, communications, fundraising and marketing at colleges, universities, independent schools and affiliated nonprofits.
Categories: University Announcement
Interview with WFU Writers Hall of Fame Inductee Maria Henson
By Intern Elise Dean (’18) and Kim McGrath, Wake Forest News and Communications
On Saturday, April 9, in conjunction with Words Awake 2!, a celebration of writing and writers April 8-9, the University will induct five alumni writers into the Wake Forest University Writers Hall of Fame. Among them is Maria Henson (’82), a journalism lecturer and associate vice president and editor-at-large at Wake Forest Magazine. She is Wake Forest’s only Pulitzer Prize winner.
After graduating from Wake Forest, Henson built a career as a distinguished journalist working as a reporter, Washington correspondent, columnist, editorial writer, investigative editor and editor. In 1992, she won the Pulitzer Prize, the most prestigious prize in journalism, for her series in the Lexington Herald-Leader about battered women in Kentucky. She also edited a series on Yosemite National Park in The Sacramento Bee that won the 2005 Pulitzer Prize for editorial writing. In 1993-94, Henson was a Nieman Fellow at Harvard. She has been a Pulitzer Prize juror four times.
Categories: University Announcement
Wake Forest Magazine wins two top awards
Wake Forest Magazine won two top awards in the 2015 Circle of Excellence global competition sponsored by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE).
The publication received a Gold Award in Periodical Staff Writing for a collection of five stories: “Out of This Art World” and “An Artful Friendship” by Editor Maria Henson (’82); “Oh, Those Lilting Banshees: Where Are They (Funny) Now?” and “Ted Gellar-Goad and the Secret of the Sphinx” by Managing Editor Cherin C. Poovey (P ’08); and “The Thing He Carried” by Senior Editor Kerry M. King (’85).
“Wake Forest submitted a diverse and thoroughly entertaining set of stories. From painting buddies in Winston-Salem to art on the Texas prairie, each entry delivered a strong, unique voice and command of the material,” wrote the judges. “Writing was crisp and informative. Even more importantly, the committee could delineate a direct connection between the subject matter and the mission of Wake Forest.”
The magazine staff, including Deputy Editor Janet Williamson (P ’00, ’03), also received a Bronze Award for General Interest Magazines over 75,000 circulation.
Categories: Staff News
Attracting and keeping young talent in Winston-Salem
Attracting young talent to Winston-Salem businesses and retaining that talent will be addressed in a panel discussion Nov. 18 presented by the Technology Council of the Winston-Salem Chamber of Commerce.
Moderated by Maria Henson, associate vice president and editor-at-large of Wake Forest Magazine, the event will be held from 8-9:30 a.m. at Milton Rhodes Center, Reynolds Place, 251 Spruce Street. Paid parking is available at the center or on the street.
Registration is requested.
Categories: Events
