Bacon-Blood to Serve as Gambill Distinguished Alumni Spring Speaker
JONESBORO – Littice Bacon-Blood, the communications and publications manager for the University of New Orleans, is the Arkansas State University Dr. Joel Gambill Distinguished Alumni Speaker for spring 2019. She will address students, faculty and staff in the multi-media journalism program, Monday and Tuesday, March 4-5.
Bacon-Blood is a former student of Gambill, who was chair of the Department of Journalism for 36 years. She expressed “high regards and appreciation” for Gambill and welcomes the opportunity to return to campus and talk about her career path after successfully completing her journalism education at A-State.
In her position at UNO, she creates and edits content for the university’s website and social media platforms. She also is the executive editor of the university’s alumni magazine, Silver & Blue.
Bacon-Blood is a former editor and reporter for The Times-Picayune/NOLA.com Media Group in New Orleans. During her more than 25-year journalism career, Bacon-Blood has reported on and/or directed news coverage of natural and man-made disasters, including hurricanes Katrina and Isaac, crime and politics, neighborhoods and community issues, the environment and education trends.
As bureau chief of the River Parishes bureau, Bacon-Blood’s editorial columns and continuing news coverage of a fatal accident-prone stretch of highway have been credited with spurring the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development to take steps to improve safety in the area by erecting a barrier alongside the road.
Bacon-Blood graduated from Arkansas State in 1990 with a Bachelor of Science degree in journalism/communications. She earned a Master of Arts degree in public relations from Kent State University in 2014.
Bacon-Blood is married and has two children.
About the Dr. Joel Gambill Distinguished Alumni Speaker Series
The endowed Dr. Joel Gambill Distinguished Alumni Speaker Series is named after the 1965 A-State graduate who wanted to bring the media world to A-State students. He spent four decades building the department into a national powerhouse.
His numerous awards and recognitions include being named Outstanding Educator by the Arkansas Press Association as well as the organization's highest honor, the Distinguished Service Award. Along with his dedication to education and journalism, he devoted his time and talent as the official scorekeeper for A-State men's and women's basketball for a quarter century. Equally passionate about tennis, he captained five Jonesboro teams to the state championship.
Although he has many interests, he is most well-known, as one newspaper editor said, as Arkansas's foremost journalism educator. It has been said that editors and publishers looking to fill positions on the staff were accustomed to calling Gambill first.
