Doug Alligood ’56 BBDO Award will Fund Advertising Capstone Projects

11/01/2011 4:57 PM

Bradley alumnus and Centurion supports student research on the need for diversity in business and advertising.

By Ivy Hillman ’12

BBDO New York has partnered with Bradley to create an award that will help fund senior capstone projects focused on the need for diversity in business, especially in advertising. The Douglass L. Alligood Award will be offered annually.

Douglass Alligood graduated from Bradley in 1956 and became one of the first black executives in the advertising industry. He is currently the senior vice president of Horizontal Markets at BBDO New York and received the ADCOLOR Lifetime Achievement Award in 2010.

Bradley was not the first college to which Alligood applied. He was denied enrollment by another school because he was black. Bradley not only accepted him; the University also awarded him a scholarship. Alligood spent his time on the Hilltop wisely. He was a member of the Air Force ROTC, the band, the Chorale and served as a resident advisor. He was inducted into the Centurion Society in 1994.

Dr. Jeffrey Huberman, dean of the Slane College of Communications and Fine Arts, is excited about the opportunities the award will give to students.

 “Doug Alligood received a high-quality education and broad-based experience from Bradley that enabled him to take the lead in his profession. The Douglass L. Alligood Award will encourage and inspire succeeding generations of Bradley communication graduates to follow in his footsteps as change agents committed to the highest ideals,” Huberman said.

To receive the award, Slane students must team up with students from other colleges. They will produce a competitive senior research project and strive to gain real world results in business. Projects should focus on diversity, branding, consumer behavior, economic feasibility and new media applications. Alligood and Bradley faculty members will supervise the projects. Each winning team will receive $10,000.