This spring, the University of Georgia and University of Iowa bestowed alumni honors to Dean Heidi Hennink-Kaminski and School of Journalism Director Tim P. Vos.
Hennink-Kaminski Receives Distinguished Scholar Award
On April 25, 2025, Dean Heidi Hennink-Kaminski received the Distinguished Scholar Award from the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Georgia, where she completed her doctoral degree. This award honors a graduate of Grady College for excellence and sustained contributions to journalism and mass communication scholarship. Hennink-Kaminski was recognized with three other alumni award recipients at the annual Grady Salutes celebration event in Athens, GA.
“I am deeply honored to receive this award and to stand among such distinguished communication professionals, scholars and colleagues,” she said. “Communication is the foundation of connection, understanding and progress, and I am grateful for the mentors and peers who have shaped my journey.”
Hennink-Kaminski credits the rigorous research training and supportive mentorship she experienced as a doctoral student with her academic success and ongoing commitment to invest in the next generation of scholars and teachers. She, along with her husband Bob and her son Cole (who was born in Athens during her doctoral studies), remain passionate Grady College and UGA Bulldog fans today.
"At Grady College, I learned that excellence in scholarship and leadership isn’t defined by competition, but by collaboration, empathy, and integrity,” said Hennink-Kaminski. “In a discipline that often celebrates individual achievement, Grady showed me the power of community—of generous mentorship, of listening deeply, and of learning with and from others. That experience continues to shape how I lead today as a dean at Michigan State University, where fostering a culture of trust, shared purpose, and inclusive excellence is central to advancing our mission."
While accepting the award, Hennink-Kaminski addressed fellow Grady College communication practitioners and scholars: “May we continue to push boundaries, elevate voices and shape the future of communication.”
Vos Elected to Hall of Fame
On April 11, 2025, MSU School of Journalism Director Tim P. Vos was inducted into the School of Journalism and Mass Communication Hall of Fame at the University of Iowa, where he completed his master’s degree. Vos and one other Hawkeye alumnus joined the Hall of Fame this year, elected by SJMC faculty in recognition of their outstanding career achievements. Vos, a native Iowan, was a first-generation college student.
“My master’s program at Iowa was so fundamental to how I would think about journalism, professionally and academically,” said Vos. “So, to be recognized by a program that was so important to me is such an honor.”
The experience not only shaped his thinking but also launched a long-term research agenda. The program exposed him to a research tradition focused on the sociology of news production, which laid the foundation for his own scholarly work. The questions he first grappled with as a graduate student have continued to animate his research ever since. His forthcoming book, The Social Roles of Journalism, is a direct extension of the ideas he began exploring at Iowa more than 30 years ago.
Today, Vos is an International Communication Association (ICA) Fellow and a past president of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC), the field’s leading research, teaching and service organization. He has published over 80 journal articles, book chapters and encyclopedia entries; and is co-author, co-editor or editor of four books and the International Encyclopedia of Journalism Studies. He is book series editor of Journalism in Perspective from the University of Missouri Press and worked as a broadcast journalist for 12 years, during which time he wrote for Iowa and national publications and interviewed most of the major party candidates for U.S. president.
By Jessica Mussell