CHICAGO, IL – The Board of Governors of the Chicago/Midwest Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) will bestow its highest honor on Columbia College Chicago professor Lucas Palermo at the 49th Chicago Emmy Awards. The NATAS Governors’ Award is given to an individual or organization for outstanding contributions to Chicago broadcasting and to the Television Academy. Palermo will receive the award on November 18.
“Luke Palermo is a perfect example of the sort of teaching professional we particularly prize at Columbia,” said Television Department Chair Michael Niederman. “In his more than 20 years at Columbia, he has helped train and educate several generations of TV production professionals, who work in television stations and production houses around the country. His service to the television industry is the reason for this particular award and in that role, Luke also serves our students by bringing his professional expertise and connections into the classroom, as they train and plan for their careers out in the competitive world of broadcast media.”
At Columbia, Palermo serves as Associate Chair of the Television Department. He is a certified Avid editing instructor and has also taught studio production, lighting, soap opera directing and producing, sketch comedy directing, and remote TV production. He is co-author of a textbook on using media production in the high school curriculum.
For more than a dozen years, Palermo has served on the board of NATAS and he has served on the Emmy rules committee during his entire tenure. He also served as Emmy co-chair for a decade arranging Emmy judging trades with TV Academy chapters across the country. During his tenure, he has coordinated the processing of more than 6,000 regional Emmy entries, recruited countless local Emmy judges and led more than 50 Emmy judging panels.
Palermo has played a key role in NATAS Chicago/Midwest’s educational initiatives, including the National Student Television Awards and the Chicagoland High School Video Contest. These events partner NATAS Chicago/Midwest with the Chicagoland Television Educators Council (CTEC) – an organization Palermo helped found. These events recognize the achievement of aspiring television professionals and videographers at the high school level, encouraging them in their artistic and career goals and providing a forum for industry and higher education professionals to spot emerging talent.
Media education is very important for Palermo, who backs up his priorities with philanthropy: he contributes to the NATAS Chicago/Midwest Chapter’s Governors’ Scholarship, and provides $4,000 annually to a Columbia College Chicago scholarship through the NATAS Chicago Foundation. The Columbia scholarship was established in memory of his wife Sharon who passed away in 2005. Palermo also serves on the Executive Committee of the Television Academy as Chapter Secretary and is a member of the planning committee for the upcoming 50th Chicago Emmy Awards.
Says Barbara Williams Perry, president of the Chicago/Midwest Chapter of NATAS: “The Chicago/Midwest Chapter of NATAS considers itself privileged to be associated with this consummate TV pro as he follows in the footsteps of his mentor, the late, great Ed Morris, former Chair of the Columbia Television Department, who was honored with the Governors’ Award in 1985.”
About the NATAS Chicago/Midwest Governors’ Award. This award is presented to a member (or members) of the Chicago community who has made an outstanding contribution and/or has had a major impact on Chicago broadcasting. Letters may be submitted by any member or Governor of the Chicago/Midwest Chapter of the Academy. This award can be given to an individual, a company or an organization for outstanding achievement in the arts, sciences or management of television which is either of a cumulative nature or so extraordinary and universal in nature as to be beyond the realm of the awards presented in the categories of achievement. Past winners include: Jim Disch, John Drury, Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, Bill Kurtis, Irv Kupcinet, Ed Morris, Len O’Connor, Jim Ruddle, and many others.
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