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Celebrate the past, present, and future of the University of Tennessee College of Communication and Information at the CCI 50th Anniversary Gala, Friday, Oct. 11, at the Knoxville Convention Center.
The event is open and free to all CCI alumni plus one guest.
The gala begins at 5:30 p.m. with cocktails, followed by faculty and alumni awards, dinner, and a program celebrating the college’s legacy. After the program, the dance floor will be open with accompanying music from Just a Few Cats.
Longtime Tennessee news anchors Anne Holt Blackburn (JEM ’73) and Josh Smith (JEM ’94) will serve as the evening’s masters of ceremony. Blackburn’s career has spanned more than 40 years at WKRN-News 2 in Nashville, where she was won eight Emmys and the 2007 Governor’s Award for Lifetime Achievement, the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences’ highest honor. Smith is in his 20th year with WJHL-TV News Channel 11 in Johnson City.
As the evening’s featured speaker, Fortune President and CEO Alan Murray will talk about the future of the communication and information industries. Before joining Fortune as editor, he served as president of the Pew Research Center and spent 29 years at the Wall Street Journal as Deputy Managing Editor, Executive Editor (online) and the Washington Bureau Chief.
The gala will also feature representatives from student groups throughout the college, including: Ad Club, American Library Association/Tennessee Library Association, Communication Studies Club, Diversity Student Leaders Society, PRSSA, SPJ, Tennessee Journalist (TNJN), The Volunteer Channel (TVC), and WUTK.
On Saturday, Oct. 12, CCI will hold its annual football tailgate in the Communications Building lobby and patio, which overlooks Neyland Stadium. The tailgate will begin three hours before the UT/Mississippi State kickoff, which has yet to be announced.