Hall of Fame

The Hall of Fame Award was created to recognize people who have made the highest level of contributions that affect the quality of education we provide to students. This could be in the form of service activities, financial donations, and/or extraordinary activities that benefit students or faculty. They may or may not be alumni of the program. Anyone employed by TTU should have been separated from the university for at least five years before they can receive this award. Hall of Fame winners are chosen by a vote of the CoMC full-time faculty and Active NAB members. 

Dorothy A. Bowles, Ph.D. 
Professor Emerita 
University of Tennessee 

2025 Hall of Fame Award

Dr. Dorothy A. Bowles is a distinguished scholar, educator and advocate for open government and press freedom, with a career in journalism and mass communications education spanning more than four decades. She earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Texas Tech University in 1962, a master’s in journalism from the University of Kansas in 1969 and a Ph.D. in mass communications from the University of Wisconsin, Madison in 1978. 

Bowles retired as professor emerita from the University of Tennessee’s School of Journalism & Electronic Media after 22 years of teaching and research. Her academic work centered on communication law, media and politics, and news editing. She is the author of a leading media law textbook, now in its third edition, and a widely used editing textbook, currently in its sixth edition. She also contributes annually to a major communication law text with a chapter on intellectual property law. 

Throughout her career, Bowles has been a steadfast champion of transparency and public access to information. She is a founding board member and current secretary of the Tennessee Coalition for Open Government and, in 2008, was appointed to a four-year term on the Tennessee Advisory Committee on Open Government. Her leadership includes conducting statistical research on open government practices in Tennessee. 

Bowles has also been a longtime supporter of student press rights, serving for more than 25 years on the board and advisory board of the Student Press Law Center. She has been an active member of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) for nearly 40 years. In recognition of her public service, AEJMC established the Dorothy Bowles Award for Outstanding Public Service in 2012, honoring members who bridge the gap between academia and the professional media industry. 

Before joining the University of Tennessee, Bowles held faculty positions at the University of Kansas and the University of Wisconsin, La Crosse. As a student, she was involved in several honor societies, including Phi Kappa Phi, Sigma Tau Delta and Alpha Lambda Delta, and worked with The University Daily at Texas Tech. 

In retirement, she remains active in her advocacy for open government and a free press, while also enjoying Lady Vols basketball and time with her dogs. Her legacy reflects a lifelong dedication to educating future journalists, advancing press freedom and strengthening the connection between the media and the public it serves.

 

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