(Photo by Jeff Carrion/DePaul University)Several DePaul community members were recently recognized for their contributions to their profession, community or cause. Read on to learn more about their accomplishments.
Awards and Recognition
DePaul's Public Relations Student Society of America won the top award at the society's international conference, ICON 2023, in Nashville, Tenn., this fall. The chapter brought home the 2023 Outstanding Chapter Award from the Dr. F. H. Teahan Chapter Awards Competition, a 2023 Star Chapter Award and several awards for individual excellence.
Two students received individual awards. Graduate students Konner Gross, vice president for chapter affairs, and Sarah Thaman, chapter vice president, received National Gold Key awards from the Public Relations Society of America Foundation, the highest honor bestowed upon PRSSA members in their final year of membership.
Read more here.
Guillermo Vásquez de Velasco, dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, was awarded the Tumi USA Lifetime Achievement Award for his leadership in the education of Latin American diasporas at a late September ceremony in Miami. The Tumi USA Award is an annual recognition of members of the Peruvian diaspora in the U.S. who have demonstrated distinction in a wide range of categories.
“I am humbled by this award and receive it in recognition of all the educators that work every day to provide our students with the tools to become leaders among their peers. The Latin American diaspora in the United States is not only growing in numbers, but what is more important is that we are growing in relevance," Vásquez de Velasco says.
Notable Work
Michael Flores, associate professor of cinematic arts in the Jarvis College of Computing and Digital Media, edited two films that were recently featured or screened. “Last Stop Larrimah," a documentary executive produced by Mark and Jay Duplass, premiered at SXSW in March 2023 and then on HBO on Oct. 8, 2023. “No Legs. All Heart," another documentary, was screened at the Heartland Film Festival in Indianapolis, Ind., in mid-October 2023. He is now editing a series on Nat Geo and Disney + called “The Biggest Little Farm."
Kevin Cagnolatti, assistant professor, Robert Steel, associate professor, both of the School of Cinematic Arts, and five DePaul SCA students did sound design for the feature film “Ganymede" which premiered on Sept. 23 at the Reeling Chicago International LGBTQA+ Film Festival, one of the oldest and most respected LGTBQ+ film festivals in the world. The film enjoyed a prime-time Saturday night slot at Landmark's Century Center Cinema, which sold out, and won the Audience Award for Best Feature Film at the festival. The students' work included sound design, sound effects recording and editing, dialogue editing and supporting the final mix.