Student Media’s Gilbert Wins National Award from College Media Association

NC State Student Media Associate Director Jamie Lynn Gilbert has earned the College Media Association’s (CMA) Distinguished Adviser Award for 2021 in the Four-Year Broadcast Adviser category.

The CMA, the largest national organization serving collegiate media organizations and their advisers, announced the award ahead of the Fall National College Media Convention set for Oct. 14-17. The Distinguished Adviser Awards are among the highest honors the CMA bestows each year.

Gilbert came to NC State 15 years ago after working for nearly a decade at National Public Radio-affiliated stations in Michigan. She was named associate director of Student Media in 2015, though she has remained the primary adviser to WKNC throughout her career at NC State.

In his letter nominating Gilbert for the award, Student Media Director Patrick Neal emphasized Gilbert’s rapport with her students.

“Since Jamie’s arrival at NC State in 2006, WKNC 88.1 FM HD-1/HD-2’s General Managers have always managed to strike the perfect balance between running a tight, professional ship and maintaining the atmosphere of inclusiveness, discovery, quirkiness and just plain fun that sets the truly great college radio stations apart,” Neal wrote. “At a time when many student media organizations across all platforms are struggling to maintain student interest and support, WKNC is thriving, and the station has Jamie to thank for that.”

This is hardly the first time Gilbert has been recognized for her work in college radio and student media advising generally. Last year she earned the Excellence In Advising Award from College Broadcasters, Inc., the largest professional organization serving college broadcasters across the country. Gilbert also earned CMA’s Honor Roll Adviser Award in 2011 for advisers with five or fewer years of service. Here at NC State, Gilbert is a past recipient of the Pride of the Wolfpack Award (2018), the Outstanding Student Organization Adviser Award (2017), and a number of awards for web accessibility from NC State’s IT Accessibility Office.

In addition to her work at NC State, Gilbert has served as an adjunct instructor of journalism, mass communication and public speaking at Durham Technical Community College since 2016.