Communication Professor Honored With Two Awards at Regional Conference

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Myria Allen, professor of communication

Myria Allen, professor of communication in the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, was honored with double accolades at the 89th Annual Convention of the Southern States Communication Association in Montgomery, Alabama, on April 7. She received the 2019 Michael M. Osborn Teacher-Scholar Award and the J. Donald Ragsdale Award for Mentoring. 

Allen was nominated for the Michael M. Osborn Teacher-Scholar Award by her colleagues for balancing her career with excellence in teaching, scholarship and service to the university and to her discipline. Allen has served as the Department of Communication graduate director for seven years and has advised approximately 140 graduate students on academic and personal issues during their time in the program and into their professional and continuing academic careers. In addition to teaching on all levels of collegiate education since 1988, Allen has authored or co-authored 53 book chapters and journal articles, published a book, and has written numerous conference proceedings, case studies, book reviews, and many convention papers and has been awarded more than $125,000 in grant funding.  In addition, she regularly mentors junior faculty members in their teaching and research endeavors and in professional development. 

The J. Donald Ragsdale Award for Mentoring honors members who demonstrate outstanding achievement in mentoring junior colleagues to foster development within the field. Allen works with graduate students and junior faculty members across the department and recently reoriented the graduate program to one of civic engagement and works with faculty members, both at the University of Arkansas and those former graduates who are now teaching and researching at other institutions, where she encourages civic awareness and action in their work. She actively shares her experience, expertise, and advice in research, teaching, and publishing strategies while encouraging junior faculty to develop a productive balance in their research, teaching, and service. 

"Over the years it has been my pleasure to work with younger faculty and with graduate students to help them identify what they have questions about and then how to execute the research," she said of her passion for her academic role. "I remember with gratitude those early mentors who helped me achieve balance in my life, taught me the ins and outs of various theories and methods, and helped me learn how to write."

These awards follow Allen's receipt of the 2018 Outstanding Mentor in Master's Education from the National Communication Association at its 104thAnnual Convention.