Professor Terence Dollard of the Department of Mass Communication at UNC Pembroke has earned an Award of Excellence in the 2024 Communicator Awards for his TV show “Comic Culture,” which airs on The NC Channel and is hosted online at www.pbs.org.

His winning episode in the film and video interview category was “HeroesCon @ 40,” for which he served as producer, writer, director and host. It was shot on location in Charlotte at the 2022 HeroesCon and at the comic book shop, Heroes Are Hard To Find.

The Communicator Awards are an annual competition of the Academy of Interactive & Visual Arts, an industry group of communications and marketing professionals and firms. With over 3,000 entries from the U.S. and abroad, it’s the most extensive competitive awards program honoring creative excellence for communications professionals. Excellence (gold) and Distinction (silver) are awarded in dozens of creative categories for media industries and nonprofits.

“The entries into this season of The Communicator Awards were such a great representation of three decades celebrating innovation and creativity in all forms of communication,” said AIVA Managing Director Lauren Angeloni. “I couldn’t have wished for a more diverse and brilliant body of work to be placed in our jurors’ capable hands.”

Dollard has been producing the series with students and colleagues since 2012. Since then, he has interviewed scores of comic book artists and publishers in the TV studio on the campus of UNC Pembroke and via Skype or Zoom—across the U.S. and from as far away as Italy and Israel. Earning camera credits on the winning episode, students Zel Ordillas and Victor Mays and university colleagues Jamie and Michael Litty, in addition to now-retired WNCP-TV engineer Chuck Lowery.

“‘Comic Culture’ is something I’m incredibly proud of as a creator and educator,” Dollard said. “Winning a Communicator Award for ‘HeroesCon@40’ shows the world the Department of Mass Communication at UNC Pembroke can compete with anyone. In fact, ‘Comic Culture’ is the only weekly series submitted to PBS NC from any UNC-System school. It’s our superpower for student success.”

Weekly episodes shot in the TV studio feature a student crew earning academic credit in the broadcasting major at UNCP.          

“HeroesCon @ 40,” aired in two parts on The NC Channel, is available on-demand at https://www.pbs.org/show/comic-culture/.