This year’s highly-coveted National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) Journalism Educator of the Year Award was given to Yanick Rice Lamb, PhD, a Professor in the Cathy Hughes School of Communications at Howard University, and a co-founder of Fierce. The award recognizes the service, commitment, and academic guidance of an outstanding journalism teacher, professor or educator. The candidate must teach or advise students within the field of journalism at a high school or an accredited four-year college or university, and must have helped to increase the number of Black journalists in newsrooms.
As an accomplished, veteran journalist, author, and educator who is also greatly appreciated by her students and colleagues alike, Dr. Rice Lamb is the ideal recipient for the award. “Since joining Howard University in 2001, Dr. Rice Lamb has been instrumental in ensuring that we have one of the leading journalism programs in the country,” said Ingrid Sturgis, Associate Chair of Howard’s Journalism School. “USA Today and College Factual consistently rank our program among the top 10 or 20, and the National Association of Black Journalists previously ranked it as No. 1 among HBCUs.”
Sturgis added: “Dr. Rice Lamb regularly challenges us to maintain this stature and to infuse our teaching with rigor and student engagement. She pushes us to walk boldly in the footsteps of legendary professors who came before us, such as Dr. Lawrence Kaggwa and the late journalist Sam Yette. And she reminds us of the legacy of the Cathy Hughes School of Communication as the leading producer of journalists and other communicators of color for more than half a century.”
In more than two decades teaching and nurturing young journalists at Howard, Dr. Rice Lamb is hailed for one of her most remarkable qualities, “her ability to inspire and mentor others,” says Howard Assistant Professor, Stacey Patton, PhD. “As an educator, she has shown an unwavering dedication to fostering the growth and development of young minds. Her mentorship goes beyond the classroom, as she genuinely invests in the success and well-being of her students.”
Dr. Rice Lamb was honored at NABJ’s opening ceremony, during the organization’s 50th anniversary convention in Cleveland, OH, in August. A worthy celebration of job well done.
