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Barnhurst-Doherty Award

Donors at Stonehenge

The Graduate College announces a brand-new endowed travel award

Professor Emeritus Kevin Barnhurst taught in the department of communication from 1998 until his retirement in 2012, serving as interim head in 2002 and department head from 2005 to 2008. His research and teaching covered political communication, sociology of young audiences, journalism history, visual culture and qualitative methods. He explored the transformation of news in the 20th century and the sociopolitical influences on the definition of "news" in newspapers, radio, television, and digitally. His husband, Richard Doherty, served as lecturer and academic technology resource coordinator in the department of communication and served as a faculty advisor in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. After leaving UIC, they both taught at the University of Leeds before settling in New Hampshire. Kevin died in 2016.

Barnhurst and Doherty have generously funded a Graduate College-based endowment to support the academic work of graduate students whose work reflects LGBTQ studies. We anticipate offering the award each December and/or May.

Kevin stands out as a preeminent and inspired scholar, whose work forged new directions for those of us interested in questions about contemporary media and contemporary life. His work tirelessly traces how underrepresented and marginalized publics strive for visibility and voice.

Zizi Papacharissi  |  UIC professor and head of communication

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The Barnhurst-Doherty Award provides matching funds to supplement monies already received to offset the expense of travel to professional  conferences, seminars, and workshops at which the recipient(s) have presented original research of their own authorship. The recipients shall be in good academic standing. Preference shall shall be given to students who are pursuing a graduate degree in the Department of Communication in the College of Liberal Arts whose work reflects LGBTQ studies at UIC. but students who are pursuing a graduate degree in any department under the auspices of the Graduate College are eligible.