Friday, December 2, 2005

Writer: Kim Cretors, 706/542-1168, kcretors@franklin.uga.edu
Contact: Tina Harris, 706/542-4753, tmharris@uga.edu

UGA associate professor of speech communication is named recipient of Board of Regents’ 2005 Award for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning

Athens, Ga. – Tina M. Harris, an associate professor in the University of Georgia’s department of speech communication in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, has been honored by the University System of Georgia Board of Regents (BOR) with its 2005 Award for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning.

“Harris has demonstrated a knack for combining scholarship, teaching and student learning. Her efforts to promote effective teaching and learning about issues related to interracial communication are nationally recognized,” said the BOR in its announcement of the award.

Harris’ research interests are in the area of qualitative methodology, interracial communication and racial identity construction. The fundamental goal of her research is to explore race as a socially constructed phenomenon that impacts communicative experiences. More specifically, she explores individual understandings of race and its influence on the ways in which people communicate about race and nonrace-related topics and issues.

“I am thrilled to congratulate Dr. Harris on this prestigious recognition of her work by the Board of Regents,” says Garnett S. Stokes, dean of the Franklin College.  “This award is a testament to her outstanding teaching and research efforts.”

Harris is working currently on projects examining the impact of racial identity on communication regarding genetics and race. Her recent grant activity has expanded her research into the additional areas of media, health communication and religion/spirituality. She has been a co-investigator on federally funded grants from both the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control designed to explore the ways in which the lay public communicates about genetics and race.

“I consider it a deep honor to receive such a distinguished award for doing something for which I have a passion,” says Harris. “It is very affirming to be recognized by the Board of Regents for doing what I perceive to be socially significant work through my teaching and research on the experiences involved in the ‘interracial communication’ classroom.

“As an educator and scholar, I believe it is my responsibility to bring to the forefront issues of race and the implications thereof through scholarship and teaching,” adds Harris. “It is from these understandings that students and scholars alike can identify effective communication skills that can only function to facilitate social and global change through our thinking of racial differences and our experiences with interracial interactions. This award is an honor I will hold in high esteem.”

Harris’ professional service includes serving on several editorial boards for a wide variety of academic journals.  She is co-author (with African-American communication scholar Mark P. Orbe) of the book Interracial Communication: Theory to Practice (Wadsworth, 2001).  She regularly teaches two upper-level race-centered, multicultural courses every spring at UGA: SPCM 3820 (interracial communication) and SPCM 4830 (African-American relational communication).

Harris will receive $5,000 and a certificate of achievement from the BOR in January.

A unit of the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences (www.franklin.uga.edu), the department of speech communication offers both graduate and undergraduate programs that seek to cultivate in students highly developed skills in individual oral and written expression, in critical thinking, in group discussion and problem solving, and in conceptualizing the functions of communication.  Emphasis is placed on helping students understand how communication principles apply to a broad range of contexts, including governmental agencies, health care providers, courtrooms, political campaigns, cross-cultural exchanges and social movements.  For more information, visit www.uga.edu/~spc/.