Presidential Excellence

The faculty of the College of Fine Arts and Communication excel as Teachers, Scholars, Artists, and Leaders. The university’s Presidential Excellence Awards recognize and reward superior accomplishments in Teaching, Scholarly/Creative Activity, and Service.

Kaysie Seitz Brown

Kaysie Seitz Brown

Assistant Professor, Theatre and Dance

2019

Presidential Excellence Award | Teaching

Before returning to her home state of Texas, Kaysie resided in New York City where she studied with Dance Education Laboratory and danced, choreographed, and taught with organizations including LEAP, Young Audiences New York, and Notes in Motion. At Texas State, she has served as the director of the arts education outreach program Creation in Motion, a multi-faceted program which includes Creation in Motion Touring Ensemble for Young Audiences or CIM TEYA, an ensemble of dance majors who create and perform interactive works for youth.

Michael Ippolito

Michael Ippolito

Assistant Professor, Music

2019

Presidential Excellence Award | Scholarly and Creative

Praised by the New York Times for his “polished orchestration” that “glitters, from big-shoulders brass to eerily floating strings,” Michael Ippolito’s music has been performed by leading musicians in venues around the world. Drawing on a rich musical background of classical and folk music, and taking inspiration from visual art, literature and other art forms, he has forged a distinctive musical voice in a body of work spanning orchestral, chamber, and vocal music.

Rebekah Fox

Rebekah Fox

Associate Professor, Communication Studies

2019

Presidential Excellence Award | Service

Rebekah’s research focuses on organizational rhetoric and resilience among firefighters and nurses, as well as the rhetoric of environmental and political issues specifically related to the First Amendment. She is the chair of the advisory board for the Communication Research Center (C3), and has served on numerous departmental, college, and university committees. She also serves as a member of the Capital Area Fire Adapted Communities Coalition and works as a technical specialist in communication for the United States Forest Service.

Stephanie Dailey

Stephanie Dailey

Assistant Professor, Communication Studies

2018

Presidential Excellence Award | Teaching

Dr. Stephanie Dailey joined the Texas state faculty in 2014. She earned her M.A. and Ph.D. in Communication Studies from the University of Texas at Austin and her B.A. in Communication Studies and Spanish from Southwestern University. In 2015, she won the Award for Excellence in Online Teaching for her undergraduate course, Empirical Research Methods, and the Rising Star Award from the Training & Development Division of the National Communication Association. She is also devoted to strengthening teaching practices by publishing work in journals that advance the teaching of communication studies and serving on the editorial board for Communication Teacher.

Cynthia Gonzales

Cynthia Gonzales

Associate Professor, Music

2018

Presidential Excellence Award | Teaching

Dr. Cynthia Gonzales arrived at Texas State in 2004 as a Target of Opportunity hire to teach undergraduate and graduate Music Theory and Aural Skills. Cynthia is nationally recognized for integrating technology into her teaching. In 2014, she authored a music fundamentals textbook within a TRACS project site to prepare first-year music majors for the theory placement exam. Cynthia sang professionally with the Santa Fe Desert Chorale in the 1980s, with Austin-based Conspirare, and more recently with the San Antonio Chamber Choir. In both 2017 and 2018, her choral compositions were selected as U.I.L. Sight Reading Contest repertoire.

Jim Price

Jim Price

Senior Lecturer, Theatre and Dance

2018

Presidential Excellence Award | Service

Jim Price came to Texas State in 2009 to create a new B.F.A. Musical Theatre program, now one of the top programs in the country. In 2010, he was appointed head of the M.A. Playwriting program. In 2013 he began work to create an M.F.A. program in Dramatic Writing. In the spring of 2017, his playwrights brought home more top awards that any other program in the country at the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival. Jim helped launch the first Musical Theatre program in Chile at the Projazz Institute in Santiago. Jim is a Lark Playwright Fellow, a two-time O’Neill National Playwright Conference semi-finalist, a Seven Devil’s Playwrights Conference finalist, as well as a finalist at the O’Neill Music Theatre National Conference for his musical, Cold Feet.

Jenny Buschhorn

Jenny Buschhorn

Assistant Professor of Practice, Journalism and Mass Communication

2017

Presidential Excellence Award | Teaching

Jenny Buschhorn is an Assistant Professor of Practice and coordinator of the Advertising Sequence. She specializes in account planning and advertising campaign development at Texas State University. Buschhorn has a B.S. and M.A. in Advertising with a concentration in Marketing from The University of Texas at Austin. Before joining the Texas State faculty, Buschhorn spent more than 20 years specializing in advertising and business planning via primary and secondary research to develop strong business positioning for several of the nation’s largest, advertising agencies including GSD&M, McCann Erickson, and TM. She co-founded a highly successful strategic business planning company with McGarrah Jessee. She excels in overall business strategy and communications implementation.

Dale Blasingame

Dale Blasingame

Senior Lecturer, Journalism and Mass Communication

2017

Presidential Excellence Award | Teaching

Dale Blasingame received a master’s degree from Texas State in 2011 with a focus in New Media Studies. He is part of the SJMC Digital Media faculty, and teaches courses that introduce students to different aspects of how technology is changing journalism and media. Before coming to Texas State, he was a television news producer. He spent nine years at WOAI-TV in San Antonio, where he won two Lone Star Emmy awards and was nominated for a third. Before that, he was a news anchor and sports reporter for KTSA-AM in San Antonio. In addition to his duties at Texas State, he is also the social media director for Leadhub, an Internet marketing company in San Antonio. He is a member of the Online News Association, Society of Professional Journalists and the National Association of Hispanic Journalists.

Previous Presidential Awards

^Teaching

^{Kaitlin Hopkins | 2016}

^{Theatre and Dance}

^{Ann Burnette | 2015}

^{Communication Studies}

^{David Nolan | 2015}

^{Journalism and Mass Communication}

^{Cindy Royal | 2013}

^{Journalism and Mass Communication}

^{Kimberly Fox | 2013}

^{Journalism and Mass Communication}

^{Jason Kwak | 2011}

^Music

^{James Housefield | 2005}

^{Art and Design}

^{Gary Rice | 1998}

^{Journalism and Mass Communication}

^{Cathy Fleuriet | 1997}

^{Communication Studies}

^{Lee Williams | 1994}

^{Communication Studies}

^{Bruce Renfro | 1990}

^{Journalism and Mass Communication}

^{Charles Pascoe | 1988}

^{Theatre and Dance}

^Service

^{Daris Hale | 2016}

^Music

^{Steven Beebe | 2015}

^{Communication Studies}

^{Roseann Mandziuk | 2013}

^{Communication Studies}

^{Michel Conroy | 2012}

^{Art and Design}

^{Sindy Chapa | 2011}

^{Journalism and Mass Communication}

^{David Nolan | 2010}

^{Journalism and Mass Communication}

^{Kimberly Fox | 2008}

^{Journalism and Mass Communication}

^{Teri Evans-Palmer | 2007}

^{Art and Design}

^{Timothy Mottet | 2006}

^{Communication Studies}

^{Wayne Kraemer | 2005}

^{Communication Studies}

^{Steven Beebe | 2001}

^{Communication Studies}

^{Marybeth Smith | 2000}

^Music

^{Scholarly and Creative}

^{Melinda Villagran | 2014}

^{Communication Studies}

^{Marian Houser | 2009}

^{Communication Studies}

^{Timothy Mottet | 2005}

^{Communication Studies}

^{Nico Schuler | 2003}

^Music

^{Isn Davidson | 1999}

^Music

^{Steven Beebe | 1996}

^{Communication Studies}

^{Adah Jones | 1995}

^Music

^{Leanne Smith | 1994}

^{Theatre and Dance}