J-school doctoral student wins Impact Award for Greensboro history project

Lorraine Ahearn, a UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media doctoral student, was recognized with an Impact Award from UNC’s Graduate Education Advancement Board on April 10.

Impact Awards are given to graduate students whose research is of exceptional benefit to North Carolina.

Ahearn’s project — “Windows to the Past: People Places and Memory in Downtown Greensboro” — is a multimedia website created in collaboration with a public history class at UNC-Greensboro. The site serves as a repository of oral history podcasts, text, digitized photos and public records information. Ahearn partnered with other UNC graduate students to integrate 19th century maps with modern Google views and create a user-friendly walking tour to trace storefront displays and each building’s changing uses over the years. 

"Lorraine has long been concerned with preserving and understanding the past, first as a reporter and columnist, and now as a scholar," said associate professor Barbara Friedman. "Her work on this project and others demonstrates her deep affection for history as well as recognition of what's needed to communicate the past to a thoroughly modern audience."

Impact Awards are privately funded through the support of The Graduate School's Graduate Education Advancement Board (GEAB). Recipients present their research at The Graduate School's Annual Graduate Student Recognition Celebration and receive a cash award for their accomplishments.