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.
Michael Devlin
Associate Professor, Journalism and Mass Communication
2021
Presidential Excellence Award | Teaching
Mike Devlin is Assistant Professor of Advertising. He holds a Ph.D. in Mass Communication from the University of Alabama, and an M.A. in Mass Communication and B.A. in Electronic Media Communications from Texas Tech University. Prior to earning his Ph.D., Mike worked as media designer and multimedia specialist in Austin. He is the author of over 10 peer-reviewed publications, 40 national and international conference proceedings, and several book chapters examining the intersection between sports communication and advertising. His research has been published in Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media, Communication and Sport, International Journal of Sport Management & Marketing, Journal of Sports Media, and International Journal of Sport Communication.
Sean Justice
Assistant Professor, Art and Design
2021
Presidential Excellence Award | Scholarly & Creative
Dr. Sean Justice, Assistant Professor, Art Education, teaches and writes about maker education, material inquiry pedagogy, and teacher education in the digital age. His book, Learning to Teach in the Digital Age: New Materialities and Maker Paradigms in Schools was published in 2016 by Peter Lang, Inc. He holds a doctorate in Art and Art Education from Columbia University, Teachers College, where he taught digital fabrication, physical computing, creative coding, and photography, to pre- and in-service teachers from across the curriculum. While at Teachers College, he designed and directed the Myers Media Art Studio, a center for exploratory art and technology research. As an artist he has exhibited photographs, videos and computer animations both nationally and internationally.
Kristin Farris
Assistant Professor, Communication Studies
2020
Presidential Excellence Award | Teaching
Kristen Farris is an Assistant Professor and serves as the Associate Basic Course Director for the Fundamentals of Human Communication course (COMM 1310) for the Department of Communication Studies. In this role, Kristen is primarily responsible for assessing student learning and teaching effectiveness. Kristen and co-author, Dr. Marian Houser, were awarded with the Program of Distinction Award in 2010 and the Program of Excellence Award in 2011 from the National Communication Association for their work with the basic course. Kristen teaches both large lecture and online sections of COMM 1310 and several other courses including: Interpersonal Communication, Communication Theory, and Empirical Research Methods.
Michael Burns
Senior Lecturer, Communication Studies
2020
Presidential Excellence Award | Service
Dr. Burns is a Senior Lecturer and Director of Career Readiness in the Department of Communication Studies and he also serves as the Co-Director for the College of Fine Arts and Communication's research program, CoSearch. Dr. Burns is also one of the co-curators for TEDxTexasStateUniversity. Dr. Burns' professional experiences outside of academia include working for NBC’s Today Show at the 2006 Torino, 2008 Beijing, 2012 London, 2016 Rio de Janeiro, and 2018 PyeongChang Olympic Games. While at the Today Show he works on the production management and logistics team. Dr. Burns also worked as a communication specialist for the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.
Cindy Royal
Professor, Journalism and Mass Communication
2020
Presidential Excellence Award | Service
Cindy Royal is a Professor in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication and the founding director of the Media Innovation Lab. She specializes in teaching the practical and theoretical concepts of digital media. Dr. Royal teaches Web development and other courses dealing with communication and technology. Dr. Royal is the 2013 Charles E. Scripps Journalism and Mass Communication Teacher of the Year. She received the 2013 Presidential Award for Excellence in Teaching from Texas State. During the 2013-2014 academic year, Royal was selected for the prestigious Knight Journalism Fellowship at Stanford University. She developed a platform to teach programming skills to journalists and journalism students called CodeActually.
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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