Awards
Penn State Intercom......April 17, 2003

Deans' Excellence Awards honor several
members of College of Communications faculty

Five full-time faculty members and one part-time faculty member have been honored with annual Deans' Excellence Awards from the College of Communications.

The awards honor those who make the ideals of teaching, research and service a reality within the college and at the University.

Gene Foreman, Larry and Ellen Foster professor of communications, earned the Deans' Excellence Award for Teaching. Along with receiving consistently strong evaluations from students in his news editing and news media ethics classes, Foreman extends his teaching beyond the University as he conducts special sessions for experienced journalists and newspapers across the country. In addition, Foreman conducts the Foster Conference of Distinguished Writers, which has brought 10 Pulitzer Prize-winners to campus in the past four years and provides an instructional resource for students.

Fuyuan Shen, assistant professor of communications, received the Deans' Excellence Award for Research. In the past year, Shen has had three articles published in three different refereed journals. He also presented papers at the two most recent conferences of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communications.

Two faculty members -- Ann Marie Major, associate professor of communications, and Matt Jackson, assistant professor of communications -- were honored with the Deans' Excellence Award for Integrated Scholarship. The dual award provides an example of the breadth and depth of academic and extracurricular work completed by many faculty members in the college. Both Major and Jackson established a high standard with a student-centered approach to teaching while also maintaining their own research agendas and numerous varied responsibilities on committees in the college and at the University. Major serves as an adviser to the Lawrence G. Foster Penn State Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America and as founding director of the Jimirro Center for the Study of Media Influence. Jackson's strong publication record has been complemented by innovative efforts in the classroom and a willingness to serve as a resource for students during the academic year and during summer programs for prospective students.

Mary Beth Oliver, associate professor of communications, earned the Deans' Excellence Award for Service. In the past year, she has: served on eight University committees; served on or chaired seven college committees; and served as book review editor of the Journal of Communication. She also served on the editorial board of four academic journals and has mentored two doctoral-degree students and chaired five committees for master's degree students.

Chuck Unger, a senior producer/director in the Instructional Unit for WPSX-TV, was recognized as the Outstanding Part-Time Faculty Member. Along with his full-time duties at the television station, Ungar has taught film/video since 1980, regularly getting strong reviews from students who appreciate his expertise and professionalism.

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