May 10, 2010
MASSACHUSETTS SCHOOL OF LAW’S “EDUCATIONAL FORUM” WINS FOURTH GRACIE AWARD AND THIRD IN LAST THREE YEARS
ANDOVER, MA—Massachusetts School of Law will be honored with a fourth prestigious Gracie Award presented by the Alliance of Women in Media as an episode of “Educational Forum” has been named the Outstanding Talk Show-Entertainment/Information category winner for 2010. This is MSL’s third consecutive Gracie Award in the local market, public, and student division.
MSL Professor Diane Sullivan hosted and wrote of the award-winning show, “MSL Educational Forum: The Girls Come Marching Home”. It chronicles the difficulties that women combat veterans face when they return from serving in Iraq and is based on a book by Kirsten Holmsted that is the follow up to her first effort, “Band of Sisters: American Women at War in Iraq.”
Sullivan and Kathy Villare, MSL’s director of new media who produced, directed, and edited the piece, will accept the trophy on behalf of MSL at the 35th annual Gracie Awards luncheon on May 26th at the historic Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, Ca. This year’s national award winners include some of the biggest luminaries in broadcasting and media: Barbara Walters, Martha Stewart, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Drew Barrymore, Andrea Mitchell, Glenn Close, Jada Pinkett Smith, Wanda Sykes, and Gayle King among others.
“In a year with many high quality entries, your submission displayed superior quality in writing, production, and programming”, Sylvia Strobel, the chair of the foundation’s board of directors and trustees, remarked in a congratulatory letter to Professor Sullivan.
“We are thrilled and honored that the Gracie Awards committee selected us again for this prestigious award,” said Villare. “The women combat veterans had a really rough time in the war, and it is very tough for them to adjust when they finally come home. Kirsten also had a very tough time writing the book because she lived vicariously through these women while telling their stories. At MSL, we are pleased and proud that we were able to help Kirsten tell these very important stories about these courageous women.”
MSL has won almost 400 sought after awards for its original television programming produced at the law school. “Educational Forum” won its first Gracie Award in 2001 for “Strong Women”, and has been honored in three consecutive years for “Women Making a Difference (2008), “Women in Government” (2009), and now “The Girls Come Marching Home” (2010).
The Alliance of Women in Media is formerly known as American Women in Radio and Television (AWRT). The awards event benefits the group’s foundation, which is a non-profit, charitable organization. It supports educational programs, charitable activities, public service campaigns, and scholarships to benefit the public and women in the media. The Gracie Awards, established in 1975, honor programming and individuals of the highest caliber in all facets of radio, television, cable, and web-based media, including news, drama, comedy, commercials, public service, documentary, and sports.
MSL’s “Educational Forum” and “Books of Our Time”, which has also won many significant awards, can be seen every Saturday and Sunday at 11 AM on Comcast SportsNet and WZMY-TV (CH. 50).
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Lynne Snierson
978-681-0800 x 179
603-553-4641 (cell)
Public Relations Director
Massachusetts School of Law, Andover, Ma
American College of History & Legal Studies, Salem, NH