Top-ranked Faculty
The department’s top national ranking is due in large part to our dynamic and energetic faculty. Currently, we have 28 faculty members in Speech Communication, several of whom hold joint appointments in other units and departments. Our faculty have a strong record of excellence in scholarship. Our research has been funded by grants from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the National Cancer Institute (NCI), the National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), the Rand Corporation, and the William T. Grant Foundation. In addition, our faculty in health, technologies, and media regularly consult with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, NIH, and NSF. In the past several years, three of our faculty members have been named Helen Corley Petit Scholars by the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, one has been named a University Scholar, four have been fellows/associates of the Center for Advanced Study, five have been fellows at the Illinois Program for Research in the Humanities, and two have been named Mellon Fellows. Our faculty members have received numerous career distinctions in the discipline as well. Our newly hired assistant professors have won dissertation awards from the National Communication Association, the American Political Science Association, the International Communication Association, and the International Association for Relationship Research. Our more senior faculty members have won book awards from Harvard University, the National Communication Association, and the American Political Science Association as well as research awards and career awards from the International Communication Association, the International Society for the Study of Argumentation, the National Communication Association, and the International Association for Relationship Research. Collectively, we hold dozens of positions on editorial boards of various academic journals within and outside the field of communication. In short, we have an active and highly talented group of scholars in the department.
Our faculty members and graduate students are also recognized for their teaching – in 2005-06, 54% of the faculty and 44% of our teaching assistants placed in the top 20% of the student evaluation (ICES) ratings for the campus. Our faculty includes four recipients of campus and/or college teaching awards. Much of our instructional activity is devoted to our large undergraduate population, but we also have a vibrant graduate program. We also teach several public speaking and writing courses (SPCM 101, public speaking; SPCM 111-112, oral and written communication) to undergraduates from across campus.