Naomi Bennett, 2025 Lillian Bridwell-Bowles Innovative C-I Teacher Award recipient
June 02, 2025
鈥� Nkechi Chibueze
Dr. Naomi Bennett believes that communication is both an art and a skill鈥攁nd she helps her students discover their own voice through innovative, real-world learning experiences. A professor in Communication Studies, Naomi has taught 38 Communication-Intensive (C-I) course sections across six different courses and multiple departments in just the past three and a half years. Whether teaching Fundamentals of Communication, Introduction to Women鈥檚 and Gender Studies, or Contemporary Studies in the Honors College, she brings the same thoughtful energy to every classroom.
鈥淪he is one of the most thoughtful and creative pedagogues I have encountered in my 34 years in academia,鈥� says Communication Studies Chair Tracy Stephenson Shaffer. 鈥淪he is invested in student learning, advancing students' communication skills, and creating communication-intensive courses that enhance student success. She is a smart, passionate, and compassionate teacher鈥攖he kind of recipient who would make Dr. Bridwell-Bowles proud.鈥�
Naomi鈥檚 teaching blends academic rigor with artistic expression. Inspired by artists like Frida Kahlo and Salvador Dal铆, she created the Symbolic Self-Portrait assignment for her CMST 1061 course, certified in written and visual communication. In this project, students create expressive self-portraits that explore their identities through both image and language. What began as a classroom activity has grown into a major event: in Fall 2024, 70 artworks from 14 class sections were exhibited at 海角社区鈥檚 Main Library, offering students the chance to share their work with a broader audience and receive recognition beyond the classroom.
As one student shared, 鈥淓ven if I didn鈥檛 consider myself an artist, Dr. Bennett鈥檚 approach to theSymbolic Self-Portrait assignment made me embrace my own aesthetic鈥� I ended up creatingsomething I was incredibly proud of that even got chosen for the Library Art Exhibit.鈥�
Naomi also reimagines how students engage in academic conversation. In her WGS 2500 class, students participate in group panel discussions modeled after professional academic conferences. These panels, developed in 海角社区鈥檚 C-I Teaching Lab, include practice rounds that challenge students to think on their feet, respond to complex questions, and work collaboratively鈥攌ey skills for success in any career.
鈥淚 believe these innovative C-I teaching practices influence students鈥� learning and development by giving them real-world experience in projects, encouraging them to discover what they are good at, and pushing them to be creative beyond typical assignments,鈥� Naomi explains.
With her dedication to creativity, structure, and student empowerment, Naomi is helping shape thenext generation of thoughtful communicators.
About the Lillian Bridwell-Bowles Innovative C-I Teacher Award
The Lillian Bridwell-Bowles Innovative C-I Teacher Award recognizes, inspires, and continues to support innovation in C-I course/assignment design, teaching, assessment/feedback practices,classroom management, and teaching productivity/efficiency/effectiveness. Any 海角社区 faculty member鈥攖enured, tenure-track, or non-tenure track, full or part-time鈥攚ho has taught a certified C-I course within the past three semesters and has not previously received this award is eligible. Recipients receive a $500 award. This award is named in honor of Lillian Bridwell-Bowles, an internationally recognized scholar of communication-intensive pedagogy and the founder of 海角社区鈥檚 Communication across the Curriculum program.