College Of Communications Faculty Recognized

5-23-97
University Park, Pa. --Several faculty in the College of Communications have been recognized with awards and grants for outstanding performance and forward-thinking.

DEAN'S AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE. Richard Barton, associate professor of communications, received the award for Excellence in Teaching, which acknowledges innovation, excellence, and dedication. Clay Calvert, assistant professor of communications, received the award for Excellence in Research, acknowledging his productivity, publications, and quality of research. Robert Richards, associate professor of journalism and law, received the award for Excellence in Service, acknowledging his commitment to enriching the academic life of students and the well-being of the community.

DEAN'S TEACHING DEVELOPMENT GRANT. Ford Risley, assistant professor of journalism, was the recipient of this grant of $2,000, which is given to a faculty member each summer for the development of new courses and curricula, learning enhancement, and other practices related to the improvement of learning and teaching. The grant will allow Risley to further develop his class, "Introduction to On-line Media," which will create a web site devoted to reporting how the mass media in Pennsylvania are using on-line services.

COMMUNICATIONS CONSTITUENT ALUMNI SOCIETY EXCELLENCE IN TEACHING AWARD. Jeanne Hall, assistant professor of media studies, received the sixth-annual Excellence in Teaching Award sponsored by the College of Communications Constituent Alumni Society. The award honors an outstanding faculty member for exemplary contributions and overall dedication to the art of teaching. Hall teaches the art of cinema and advanced film theory and criticism.

COMMISSION FOR THE PREVENTION OF ALCOHOL, TOBACCO, AND OTHER DRUG ABUSE OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION AWARD. The College of Communications received this, one of five awards given University-wide, for its joint efforts with the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board to educate students and the public about alcohol use and abuse among young adults.

FACULTY ASSOCIATES AWARD. Jeremy Cohen, associate dean for undergraduate education, was one of several University faculty selected by the Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs to receive this inaugural award, which recognizes those who seek "to strengthen faculty/Student Affairs partnerships, and to pursue activities of mutual interest to faculty and staff in service to Penn State students."

IDP FUND FOR EXCELLENCE IN LEARNING AND TEACHING (FELT) GRANT. Maria Cabrera-Baukus, assistant professor of telecommunications, in conjunction with Paul Knight, Instructor of Meteorology, was awarded funding by the IDP Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching for the proposal "Campus Weather Program: A Collaborative Learning Project." The proposal will allow Cabrera-Baukus and Knight to expand the current weekly show into a daily format.

SCHREYER INSTITUTE FOR INNOVATION IN LEARNING GRANT. R. Thomas Berner, professor of journalism and American studies, was awarded this grant to support his course in Editorial Writing and News Analysis, which introduces advanced journalism students to theory and techniques of writing news analyses, editorials, and reviews of culture and the arts. He will create learning groups that will use e-mail to share drafts of editorials for peer criticism and evaluation.

Shari Roberts, assistant professor of media studies, has also received a Schreyer Grant to enhance her course in Cultural Aspects of the Mass Media, which examines the mass media as creators and critics of mass culture in American life and the relationships between the mass media and mass culture. She plans to integrate new teaching methods into the large classes that will encourage critical thinking and deeper learning.

AEJMC/FREEDOM FORUM TEACHING FELLOW. Eve Munson, assistant professor of communications, was selected by the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) and the Freedom Forum Media Studies Center to participate as a Teaching Fellow in a week-long seminar to be held in Bloomington, Indiana, in June.

FULBRIGHT GRANT. Dennis K. Davis, professor of communications, has been granted a Fulbright to attend a seminar on German media and communication science. This group seminar examines the political, economic and social institutions of Germany, including the five new states in Eastern Germany, in light of their recent history and current development.

INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL ON DISTANCE EDUCATION (ICDE) GRANT. Robert Baukus, associate professor of advertising, and Richard Taylor, Palmer Chair Professor of Telecommunications and Law, were the recipients of an ICDE grant of $20,000 to conduct a survey of its members on information technology standards. Results of the survey will be presented at the 18th ICDE World Conference in State College in June.

SAFE ENERGY COUNCIL/SCHUMANN FOUNDATION GRANT Richard Barton, associate professor of communications, Virginia Mansfield-Richardson, associate professor of communications, and Jorge Reina Schement, associate dean for graduate studies, have been awarded a grant of $12,000 to study the role of citizen activist groups in the 1996 presidential election.

**ab**

CONTACT: Angie Bolton at (814) 865-8801, aab7@psu.edu