Braddock Honored as Distinguished UT Alumna
Paige Braddock (’85) received a 2024 Distinguished Alumna Award, the highest alumni honor from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. The recognition from the university’s Alumni Board of Directors is reserved for alumni who excel at the national or international level, and whose achievements have brought credit to the university and benefited others.
Braddock came to the UT School of Art with no formal training and a goal of becoming a cartoonist. Today she’s an award-winning artist and author, and she oversees the creative and editorial direction for Peanuts products worldwide, as chief creative officer for Charles M. Schulz Creative Associates.
In addition to studying drawing, design, and painting in class at UT, Braddock created a comic strip for The Daily Beacon. “That was like getting real world experience without ever leaving campus,” she said. “That internship really helped me improve my craft and build up my portfolio.”
Braddock started her career as a graphic artist and illustrator. Her comic Jane’s World ran for 20 years, was nominated for an Eisner Award, the industry’s highest honor, and was the first gay-themed comic distributed online by a national media syndicate in the US. Artwork from that collection is now in the University of Tennessee Libraries.
“I’ve been happy over the years to return to UT to speak to students and teach workshops,” Braddock said. “It’s important to me to give back to the community that fostered my creative career and, hopefully, inspire other artists to follow their dreams.”
Braddock is working on the fourth book in her Peanut, Butter, and Crackers graphic novel series for young readers, which she modeled after her pets. Learn more at paigebraddock.com.
By Amy Beth Miller