June 16, 2021
Collage of winning work featuring magazine and online articles

The Division of University Communications was recognized for its efforts during the Catholic Media Association’s annual Catholic Media Conference, which was held virtually June 8-11. The University was awarded eight honors, including prizes for graphic design, photography, multimedia packages, and writing.

The University’s 2018-2019 annual report, Big Questions, received a first-place honor for best annual report against Catholic nonprofit organizations. CatholicU magazine received first place honors in the categories of Best Layout of an Article or Column, for the summer 2020 article “On the Front Lines”; and Best Photograph, for Patrick Ryan’s photo, “Sunrise Mass with Migrant Workers” (see below).

Associate Professor of History Julia Young, B.A. 2001, received a second-place prize in the Best Essay category for her piece, “Drawn to Direct Action: Father and Daughter Stand with Immigrants,” which was published in the spring 2020 issue.

The spring 2020 article, Sharing the Journey, was also awarded a third-place honor in the category of Best Coverage of Immigration, competing against national magazines America and U.S. Catholic. The story received an honorable mention for Best Layout of Article or Column.

The Catholic University communications team received an honorable mention for Best Online Content Not Published in Print for the articles “Sharing the Journey,” “University Singers Find A New Way to Harmonize,” “Jeremy Striano: Live on Air,” “Architecture Students Research State of Well-Being at Home,” and “Learning Can Take Place Anywhere.” Another honorable mention was awarded for the multimedia package, “The Show Must Go On.”

These awards come one month after the Catholic Media Association honored CatholicU Magazine with three awards in the Alumni Magazine Awards Program, including a second-place recognition in the category Alumni Magazine of the Year. 

A first place in the category of Feature Writing was awarded to “Making the Case for Humanity,” written by Managing Editor Ellen Woods. The article details the social justice-inspired work of the Columbus School of Law’s Immigration and Refugee Advocacy Clinic.

A second-place award in the category of Best Profile went to the article “Fleeing for Her Faith.” Written by News Editor Katie Bahr, the profile tells the story of Dominican Sister Raghad Saeed, a physics doctoral student who was displaced from her home in Iraq by terrorist forces.

It was also announced in May that the University’s Catholic Project podcast “Crisis: Clergy Abuse in the Catholic Church” was awarded second place in the “Best Podcast” category of the Gabriel Awards.

The Catholic University of America Press also earned a Catholic Media Association honor, earning third place in the category of Catholic Social Teaching for the book, Blood in the Fields: Óscar Romero, Catholic Social Teaching, and Land Reform, by Matthew Philipp Whelan.

Read a complete list of the awards on the Catholic Media Association’s website

A sunrise Mass
University Photographer Patrick Ryan's award-winning photo “Sunrise Mass with Migrant Workers”