The University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications (UFCJC) will induct five alumni into the College’s Hall of Fame at an annual awards ceremony on April 20, 2024. This honor was created in 1970 to recognize alumni who have excelled in their careers and has been awarded to only 177 alumni out of some 35,000 graduates.

The 2024 Hall of Fame class includes:

Raja Abdulrahim, B.S. Journalism 2004

Raja Abdulrahim has been the New York Times Jerusalem correspondent since 2021. Prior to that, she was a journalist with the Wall Street Journal and the Los Angeles Times, where she was a member of Metro staff. Once the Arab Spring revolutions began, she went first to Egypt and reported from Tahrir Square during the resignation of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and then to Libya to cover the first weeks of that country’s uprising. She then spent several years reporting from the Middle East, especially covering Syria. Her coverage of Syria’s civil war was named a Pulitzer Prize finalist in 2014 and won an Overseas Press Club Award.

August (Augie) E. Grant, B.S. Broadcasting 1977, M.A.M.C. 1981

Augie Grant is a technology futurist who specializes in research on new media technologies and consumer behavior. He currently is the J. Rion McKissick Professor of Journalism at the University of South Carolina College of Information and Communications and formerly director of the university’s Center for Teaching Excellence. He is the co-editor of the highly regarded Communication Technology Update and Fundamentals, now in its 18^th edition. In addition to exploring new communication technologies, Grant’s research explores media audience behavior, convergent journalism, radio and television broadcasting, and applications of network analysis to the study of media organizations and audiences. Grant, a former member of the Broadcasting Education Association Board of Directors and former president, in 2020 received the organization’s Distinguished Education Service Award.

Larry Meador, B.S. Public Relations 1995

Larry Meador co-founded Evok Advertising, establishing himself as a pivotal figure in Florida’s advertising landscape. Under Meador’s strategic leadership, Evok has garnered numerous accolades, affirming its stature within the advertising community. Deeply committed to his alma mater, Meador’s involvement, approaching 30 years, has ranged from serving on the UFCJC Advertising Department Advisory Council, where he has been both a member and chair, to engaging as a member of the Gator Boosters Board of Directors and a Bull Gator.  Beyond the confines of the advertising world, Meador’s philanthropic endeavors reflect his dedication to community betterment. Through his agency’s support of organizations such as the Seminole State College Foundation, Rescue Outreach Mission, and the Central Florida Zoo, he has demonstrated a commitment to leveraging success for the greater good.

Stefanie Price Nimick, B.S. Telecommunication 1989

Stefanie Price Nimick is senior vice president of portfolio distribution and partner marketing for Hallmark Media.  She is responsible for managing Hallmark Media’s strategic plans for partner relationships including carriage agreements and distribution of content on traditional and new platforms. Before joining Hallmark Media, Nimich served as senior vice president, distribution & partnership marketing at STARZ. In this role, she led negotiation efforts for multi-platform distribution agreements on STARZ’s legacy and emerging platforms, resulting in more than $1 billion in annual revenue in licensing agreements with all major distributors. Before STARZ, she held distribution leadership roles at AMC Networks for nearly 13 years, where she developed and implemented multi-platform distribution and marketing strategies for AMC, WE tv, IFC, Sundance and IFC Films.

Rebecca Patterson, B.S. Journalism 1990

Rebecca Patterson is a globally recognized investor and macro-economic researcher with more than 25 years’ experience studying how politics and policy intersect with economic trends to drive financial markets. She was most recently chief investment strategist at Bridgewater Associates, the world’s largest hedge fund. She previously served as Chief Investment Officer at Bessemer Trust, where she oversaw $85 billion in client assets. Patterson currently is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the Trilateral Commission and the Economic Club of New York, and is Chair of the Board of the Council for Economic Education. She has served on the New York Federal Reserve’s Foreign Exchange and Investor Advisory Committees and served on and chaired the University of Florida’s Investment Corporation Board. She and her husband Robert Frank established a fund at UFCJC to support students who find themselves in financial difficulty due to unexpected circumstances or crises.

Posted: March 11, 2024
Category: Alumni News, College News
Tagged as: Augie Grant, Hall of Fame, Larry Meador, Raja Abdulrahim, Rebecca Patterson, Stefanie Nimick