On Friday, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s School of Media and Journalism recognized rAVe founder Gary Kayye with their 2016 Adjunct Professor of the Year Award. According to the School’s website, the Val Lauder Award for Teaching, recognizes an adjunct, instructor or other non full-time faculty member for excellence in teaching.

An awards ceremony was held this morning at the school where Gary was recognized by Senior Associate Dean for Undergraduate Studies Charlie Tuggle (pictured with Gary).

Gary has been teaching at UNC since 2009 and teaches two courses at the School of Media and Journalism. During the fall semester each year, he teaches tow sections of a class called New Media Technologies and Its Impact on the Future of Advertising, Marketing and PR and each spring he teaches a course called The Branding of Me. The students study digital media and social media marketing and explore how future technologies and even mobile apps influence and steer advertising and marketing as well as assist in the dissemination of information through PR (public relations). A semester-long project includes using all the digital and social media tools available to brand something or someone. In 2015, his class assisted in the re-branding of the UNC School of Media and Journalism and that included a rebranding campaign video. In 2016, New Media class project was to create the marketing and personal branding campaign for a North Carolina District Court Judge candidate, Samantha Cabe.

You may have seen some of Gary’s students at InfoComm and ISE shows as, after they have completed two semesters of coursework with him, they can apply for a hands-on, on-site internship with rAVe covering AV trade shows with their rAVe [NOW] service. Seventeen current or former UNC students will work alongside Gary Kayye and rAVe Editor-in-Chief, Sara Abrons, at InfoComm 2016 in Las Vegas next month.

Photo Credit: Lois Boynton