Written by Professor Kembrew McLeod, Director of Graduate Studies

"As we wind down yet another, er, uneventful semester, I wanted to take the time to thank our graduate students for everything they have done to help the department during the pandemic—and what they do for our department year in and year out. We could not have gotten through this together without you, which makes this year’s round of departmental awards all the more significant, because it reminds us of how lucky we are to have you.

Sadly, this year, you will not be able to witness my interpretive dance routine I worked out to accompany these awards announcements, so you will have to use your imagination. But in all seriousness, I found myself welling up with tears of pride when reading the letters of recommendation and support materials that describe the range of smart, compassionate, and engaging work our graduate students continue to do. Even if you were not recognized for a specific award this time around, the work that you are doing truly matters, and we the faculty truly appreciate it.

AND NOW, WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, GET READY FOR THIS YEAR’S SLATE OF DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNICATION STUDIES AWARD AND FELLOWSHIP RECIPIENTS!”

The Carol Schrage Prize for Community Building

This award recognizes graduate students who believe in and demonstrate the collegial qualities Bruce Gronbeck was known for, including respect and civility, an appreciation of diverse opinions, supporting the vigorous defense of one’s ideas, optimism and giving benefit of doubt, and nourishing a pleasant work atmosphere.

Recipient: Kristiana Baez

Since arriving here at Iowa, Kristiana has spent many labor hours supporting her graduate student peers and contributing to the department in ways that matter meaningfully for our department mission. “Kristiana’s devotion to our department manifests in her service as well. She sits on the departmental diversity committee where she advocates for classroom accessibility, mental health care, and the protection of our most vulnerable students,” writes one colleague. “She is also a member of the Bruce Gronbeck Rhetoric Society and, as sitting president, I can attest that Kristiana encourages our organization to include the voices of academics of color when we are planning invited lectures.” In sum, “Kristiana embodies the kind of future the students, faculty, and staff want for this department. She means so much to me as a colleague and friend, and every day I consider myself outrageously lucky to have ended up in the same department as her. She performs a very specific type of labor: one that is emotional, exhausting, necessary, and, unfortunately, often thankless.”

Douglas Ehninger Prize for Teaching Excellence

The Douglas Ehninger Prize for Teaching Excellence recognizes teaching excellence among graduate students within the Department of Communication Studies. The winner of the department prize is nominated for the university-level Council on Teaching Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award.

Recipient: Berkley Connor

Graduate teaching assistants like Berkley push their peers and other faculty to raise the level of their teaching game, and I always walk away humbled after reading through the nomination materials for our Douglas Ehninger Prize for Teaching Excellence. “Berkley is bright, creative, and skillfully adept at calibrating the classroom in response to student needs and concerns,” the nomination letter writer states. “She possesses all of the finest attributes of the very best instructors, and, moreover, has honed these skills at a far earlier stage in career than most (if ever) do. Berkley has a knack for eliciting student participation… I was thoroughly impressed by her pitch perfect blend of lecture and conversational engagement. She is consistently prepared and poised, organized in presenting information, and drew on examples that spoke well to students and proved excellent fodder for conversation.” Another course supervisor writes, “I’ve had the pleasure of having Berkley TA my large lecture course for three years in a row. I have observed her in her small discussion section and delivering the large lecture in Shambaugh. Across settings, she is possibly the strongest graduate student instructor I have ever observed.”

Council on Teaching Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award

The University of Iowa Council on Teaching annually acknowledges a select group of graduate teaching assistants who have effectively promoted learning and creativity both inside and outside of the classroom and also have demonstrated enthusiasm and dedication to student success. 

Recipient: Berkley Connor

Carroll Arnold Fellowship

The Carroll Arnold Fellowship is awarded to the most promising 2nd year scholar and teacher who shows evidence of strong development as a teacher and notable growth as a scholar. Choosing a single winner for all of these awards was a difficult and time-consuming task, and in this particular case we decided to recognize the following three outstanding graduate students for the Carroll Arnold Fellowship.

Recipient: Andrew Boge

Andrew hit the ground running two years ago after entering our department straight outta an undergraduate program and has continued to impress everyone he comes in contact with. “His coachability is comprised of his strong listening and note-taking skills, his cultivated ability to ask critical questions, and his trained capacity to follow through on recommendations,” one letter writer stated, adding, “I must admit humbly that occasionally he has to bring me back into focus, taking the initiative to ensure that his plan and development remains on course. Such independence and organization is rare in someone only two years out from their undergraduate work.” Another support letter stated, “Andrew maintains a rigorous research agenda while simultaneously expanding the boundaries of intellectual engagement. His success on this front through his work as an Obermann Public Good Fellow and as a Fellow in the Digital Studio takes his scholarly inquiry into the practice of museum pedagogy in addition to data visualization. In total, Andrew’s intellectual work is theoretically sophisticated, generous, and timely.”

Recipient: Lauren Peters

Over the past two years, Lauren has developed a research program that is rigorously grounded in communication research and also open to new possibilities for interdisciplinary research. “Lauren is an independent teacher and scholar who quietly observes and then impresses me with her mastery of material. Our students are lucky to have her. She doesn’t require any hand-holding or assurances; she moves forward confidently to teach her class and create a strong classroom community,” her recommendation letter stated. “Throughout the last year, she has made such incredible progress on her own research ideas and scholarly identity. She has developed an interest area in how survivors of sexual trauma navigate the healthcare system and interactions with doctors and patients. She wants to figure out how to better equip doctors and nurses to give patient-centered care to survivors of sexual trauma. Although this is not my area of expertise, Lauren has taken initiative to learn more and make connections with other scholars. First, she asked Dr. Fixmer-Oraiz on to be on her committee and now is currently taking her class to learn more about feminist rhetoric and how that applies to her area of interest. She also secured a research internship at the Carver College of Medicine last summer and has continued to build relationships with scholars in her research area. I think she is poised to contribute to an important area of work that holds both theoretical and practical interest.”

Recipient: Micki Burdick

From Micki’s engaging work as a teacher to her cutting-edge scholarly work—as well as her compassionate support of her fellow graduate students—Micki is yet another reason to be proud of our graduate students in the Department of Communication Studies. “Micki has been a leader among her peers in a moment that has proven challenging for the Communication Studies graduate student body as a whole,” one support letter states. “She has a steady compass and grit that has earned the respect of faculty and graduate colleagues alike. Her pensive demeanor—in concert with her sharp intellect—renders her a delightful interlocutor across a number of settings, including in office hours as we chat about ideas, in grad seminar as she engages her peers with curiosity and generosity alike, and as an engaging instructor in the undergraduate classroom.” As for the graduate classroom, “Overall, Micki stood out in my seminar as a motivated learner and sophisticated thinker among an already intellectually engaged and vibrant group. As the semester progressed, she brought up relevant readings and discussions from previous weeks, making connections and critically reflecting on a given reading as part of the broader discourse. She was not always the first to speak, but she was a careful listener who paid attention to others and engaged in a serious but friendly manner. Her contributions significantly impacted the tone and quality of discussion, helping the seminar to perform at a very high level.”

Samuel L. Becker, John Waite Bowers and Donald C. Bryant Awards for Outstanding Graduate Scholarship

The annual Becker, Bowers, and Bryant Awards are granted, respectively, for outstanding graduate scholarship in Media History and Culture, Interpersonal Communication and Relationships, and Rhetoric, Culture, Engagement. Many of the papers that have been recognized for these awards over the years have made their way into the academic world as published articles. This emphasis on research and publication is one of the ways that Iowa continues to be a leader in the field of Communication. Below are brief excerpts from the distinguished judges (all of whom are PhD alums) who volunteered their time to read the paper submissions.

Samuel L. Becker Award for Outstanding Graduate Scholarship in Media Studies

Recipient: Lin (Veronica) Sun 
“The Digital Border”

“This is a compelling read. The author adeptly weaves together personal narrative, examples, and relevant media theories. The author also demonstrates mastery over the literature being referenced and built upon,” wrote the Becker Award judge, and noted how the paper builds in its persuasive power all the way to the end as it brings its critical lens to our new digital-bureaucratized border. 

John Waite Bowers Award for Outstanding Graduate Scholarship in Interpersonal Communication and Relationships

Recipient: Ariana Shahnazi
“Qualities of Supportive Messages During a Time of Transition: Younger Women’s Memories of Support During the Re-Entry Phase of Breast Cancer Survivorship"

“This manuscript illuminated the characteristics young breast cancer survivors perceived to be supportive,” wrote the Bowers Award judge. “I was particularly pleased to read a rationale that addressed an argument for why young cancer survivors are particularly important, why the transition/re-entry time was significant, and why qualitative research best answered your question. I also was impressed with your sample and the execution of your method and verification.” In sum, “I was very impressed with your work and I hope to see it in press! Thank you for your excellent submission.”

Donald C. Bryant Award for Outstanding Graduate Scholarship in Rhetorical Studies

Recipient: Morgan DiCesare
“Queer Processing: Between Brian Coyle’s Personal Papers and Queer Theories of the Archive”

“You have incredibly talented students, and it is painful to have to choose from amongst this very impressive set of papers,” the Bryant Award judge wrote before singling out Morgan DiCesare’s winning paper. “From Coyle’s own letters documenting his lovers and his own process of coming out to the particular space/location of the archive in the Minnesota Historical Society, ‘queer processing’ centers both the grassroots archival activist sensibilities of Coyle with the institutional precarity where queer lives have been actively erased, hence the act of rhetorical, activist queer archiving itself is of pedagogical and methodological importance.”

Additional Awards

Graduate College Summer Fellowships Winners

This fellowship program provides an opportunity for advanced doctoral students to benefit from protected and supported time to pursue their scholarly research activities. It is intended to facilitate completion of the doctoral degree in a timely manner. 

• Berkley Connor
• Tyler Snelling
• Tyler Williams

 
Graduate College Post-Comprehensive Research Award Winners

This award program provides an opportunity for advanced doctoral students to benefit from protected and supported time to pursue their scholarly research activities. The award is intended to recognize students with distinguished academic achievement during their early graduate training. These achievements should be evident from a combination of outstanding academic performance in coursework, as well as early scholarly research activities.

• Berkley Connor
• Michelle Flood
• Tyler Snelling

CLAS Dissertation Writing Fellowship Winner

The purpose of the program is to provide fifteen students each year with the precious gift of time to complete a PhD dissertation, thus having the beneficial effects of improving degree completion rates and reducing time to degree. 

Recipient: Veronica Sun

Department of Communication Dissertation Research Award

Dissertation Research Awards are intended to assist students with dissertation-related work including, but not limited to, a dissertation chapter, a pilot study, or data collection to support a dissertation. Award funds may be used for travel to archives or to interview informants, for the payment of research participants, or for the purchase of equipment or services necessary for one’s research.

Recipient: Veronica Sun