National Award for Excellence in Teaching

Deadline for nominations: June 1, 2024

  • The annual AJHA Award for Excellence in Teaching honors a college or university teacher who excels at teaching in the areas of journalism and mass communication history, makes a positive impact on student learning, and offers an outstanding example for other educators.

    An honorarium of $500 accompanies the prize.

    Eligibility:

    A nominee may be tenured or untenured, and should hold either a full- or part-time appointment with a minimum of three years teaching experience at a college or university that confers an associate, baccalaureate or higher degree in journalism, mass communication, communication studies, or history as of the submission due date.

    All nominees must have responsibility for teaching the history of journalism and mass communication either as a stand-alone course or as part of a broader course.

    Nomination packets must include:

  • Letter of nomination from the candidate that includes the following:
    • a. A summary of his/her teaching philosophy and how he/she designs courses or assignments to actualize that philosophy,
    • b. An example of how experience has improved his or her teaching over time,
    • c. and a discussion of how the impact of his or her teaching has become evident.
  • Curriculum vitae
  • A syllabus from a mass communication history course or a course that incorporates mass communication history.
  • Three items that demonstrate teaching effectiveness. These may include assignment sheets, lesson plan or detailed lecture notes, PowerPoint presentation for a lecture, examples of student work along with the assignment sheet from which the work was created (anonymize the work if possible and obtain permission to submit from the student where copyright may be an issue).
  • One letter of support from a colleague (peer or senior) or academic administrator.

Nominations should be sent to Education Chair Kaylene Armstrong electronically as a PDF (one file).

Erin Coyle, of Temple University, received the 2022 National Award for Excellence in Teaching. Read about her recognition

Past Winners

 2022 Dianne Bragg, Alabama
 2021 Ira Chinoy, Maryland
 2020
 Michael Fuhlhage, Wayne State
 2019 David Vergobbi, Utah
 2018 Mike Sweeney, Ohio
 2017 Amber Roessner, Tennessee
 2016 Wayne Dawkins, Hampton
 2015 Tracy Lucht, Iowa State
 2014 Bernell Tripp, Florida
 2013 Earnest Perry, Missouri
 2012 Janice Hume, Georgia
 2011 Leonard Teel, Georgia State
 2010 David Sloan, Alabama
 2008 Betty Winfield, Missouri

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