LSU Manship School Professor Named National Award Winner
Auust 23, 2019
Baton Rouge, LA – Tina M. Harris, Ph.D., is the winner of the National Communication Association’s prestigious 2019 Robert J. Kibler Memorial Award, which is given to only one communication professional in the country each year.
The award was created in 1978 to honor Robert J. Kibler. It recognizes those qualities epitomized by Professor Kibler's professional and personal life, including dedication to excellence, commitment to the profession, concern for others, vision of what could be, acceptance of diversity and forthrightness. The award is given to a person who has exhibited those qualities over their career.
Harris will accept the award in November in Baltimore, Maryland at the National Communication Association’s annual conference.
“I am deeply honored to have colleagues recognize the contributions I have made to the discipline. I hope that this inspires others to realize the potential that lies in creating environments, relationships and scholarship where ‘concern for others’ and ‘acceptance of diversity’ are at the core,” said Harris. “We are imperfect people living in an imperfect world; however, we can turn the tide by reflecting compassion and kindness through word and deed.”
Harris joined the Manship School’s faculty in summer 2019 as the Douglas L. Manship Sr.-Dori Maynard Race, Media and Cultural Literacy Endowed Chair – the first and only position of its type in the nation. She is an internationally renowned interracial communication scholar who studies and teaches on race, media representations and racial social justice. Her pedagogy, research and service are driven by her desire to empower students and others with the communication and critical thinking skills necessary for becoming global citizens.
“This award is a testament to the distinction that Dr. Harris is known for, not just in the region, but around the world, as a scholar, mentor and educator. We are thrilled to celebrate with her this well-deserved recognition,” Martin Johnson, dean of LSU’s Manship School, said.
For more information, contact smalin@lsu.edu.
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LSU’s Manship School of Mass Communication ranks among the strongest collegiate communication programs in the country, with its robust emphasis on media and public affairs. It offers undergraduate degrees in public relations, journalism, political communication, digital advertising and pre-law, along with four graduate degree programs: master of mass communication, Ph.D. in media and public affairs, certificate of strategic communication, and dual MMC/law degree. Its public relations students were recently ranked the #1 team in the nation, and its digital advertising and student media teams frequently earn national recognition.