Professor Earns Statewide Award for Distinguished Teaching

By Anne Dudley
Paul Haridakis, Ph.D., interim director of the School of Communication Studies, is this year's Ohio Communication Association's Distinguished Teaching Award (DTA) recipient.

The association honors teachers, coaches and students in nine categories at their annual conference which was held in Findlay, Ohio on Sept. 30 and Oct. 1.

Haridakis was nominated by Adam Earnheardt, Ph.D., of the Department of Communication at Youngstown State University. Earnheardt is a COMM alumnus.

Previous recipient of the DTA award, COMM Professor Carole Barbato, Ph.D., supported Haridakis' nomination with testament to his dedication to his students and research projects and the high esteem student reflect of his teaching in course evaluations.

"He is the kind of professor most of us dream of being," Barbato said. "He is truly the ultimate teacher-scholar."

"His teaching is as diverse as he is," Barbato continued. "You might find him teaching a graduate seminar in media effects and in the same semester an undergraduate course in free speech or perhaps a course he developed on sports communication due to his interests and his students' interests in sports."

COMM Doctoral Student Carol Savery wrote a letter of support for Haridakis noting "his curiosity and energy towards research" and "his seminar style of teaching [that] created a great environment to discuss and listen to different approaches by other graduate students."

Rekha Sharma, COMM doctoral candidate and adjunct instructor, said, "Dr. Haridakis didn't just conduct classes – he created a community wherein collegial debate and collaboration thrived."

Haridakis joins three other past Kent State scholars to receive this statewide award. The three past recipients are Barbato, Rebecca Rubin, Ph.D., professor emerita of communication studies, and Jerry Feezel Ph.D., professor emeritus of communication studies.