Communication Studies Awarded for Teaching Excellence

The Department of Communication Studies in the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences has received the 18th annual Provost’s Award for Excellence in Teaching, granted annually to an academic department, office, or program in recognition of its maintaining high-quality teaching.

In announcing the award, Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Joan Lorden cited the department’s accomplishments.

“Communication Studies has been a leader in using technology to increase access for non-traditional students, for innovation in internationalizing the curriculum, and for embracing the importance of active, engaged and experiential learning,” Lorden said.

The department will receive an award of $5,000 from the UNC System Board of Governors and the Provost’s Office, will showcase the award in the department for a year and will be honored by a fall reception hosted by the provost.

“On behalf of the Department of Communication, I express our gratitude for the recognition of our department by Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Lorden,” said Shawn Long, department chairman. “I also thank Dean Nancy Gutierrez for nominating our department for this prestigious award.

“We are especially pleased that this award recognizes a department for its collective focus on high-quality teaching,” Long said. “This department certainly reflects that ideal, working as a team to help students gain the skills and knowledge they need to succeed in a rapidly changing world.”

In other recent awards, the department earned recognition in 2011 as a Top Ten Department in Research Productivity in North America by the CIOS/COMM Vista Ranking System. This system tracks article publication by faculty at more than 700 programs in the US and Canada, ranking them on the basis of research article productivity in the field’s journal literature.