Pictured left to right at the 2025 University Faculty Awards Ceremony: Malinda Sutor, Erin McKinley, Naomi Bennett, Sadie Wilks, Soo Jeong Jo, Annemarie Galeucia, and Nolde Alexius.
Celebrating the 2025 C-I Teaching Award Recipients
In conjuntion with the annual University Faculty Awards hosted by the Office of Academic Affairs, CxC faciliates two awards recognizing faculty members who have contributed to and participated in C-I teaching and learning in impactful ways. Recipients of these awards represent the commitment, dedication, and excellence that define and enable the 海角社区 CxC program to transform teaching, learning, and ultimately, student success.
2025 C-I Teaching & Service Excellence Award (formerly the Outstanding CxC Faculty Award) Recipients
The C-I Teaching & Service Excellence Award recognizes an individual who, through teaching, research, faculty teaching development, or CxC program efforts, engages and champions C-I pedagogy across campus in an exemplary manner. Any 海角社区 faculty member鈥攖enured, tenure-track, or non-tenure track, full or part-time鈥攁ctively engaged in the CxC program and C-I teaching and learning, and who has not previously received this award, is eligible. Recipients receive a $1,500 award.
- Erin McKinley, Department of Nutrition & Food Sciences, College of Agriculture
- Sadie Wilks, Manship School of Mass Communication
2025 Lillian Bridwell-Bowles Innovative C-I Teacher Award Recipients
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.
- Nolde Alexius, English Department, College of Humanities & Social Sciences
- Naomi Bennett, Communication Studies Department, College of Humanities & Social Sciences
- Soo Jeong Jo, School of Architecture, College of Art & Design
Keep reading for profiles on these five outstanding faculty members.
In addition to the recipients of the C-I Teaching & Service Excellence Award and Lillian Bridwell-Bowles Innovative C-I Teacher Award, eight C-I faculty members were honored with 2025 University Faculty Awards.
- Distinguished Faculty Award: Morgan W. Kelly, Department of Biological Sciences, College of Science
- 海角社区 Foundation Distinguished Graduate Faculty Teaching Award: Bhuvnesh Bharti, Cain Department of Chemical Engineering, College of Engineering
- 海角社区 Foundation Distinguished Graduate Faculty Teaching Award: Sonya Cooke, School of Theatre, College of Music & Dramatic Arts
- 海角社区 Alumni Association Rising Faculty Research Award: Allison K. Young, School of Art, College of Art & Design
- Ogden Honors College Outstanding Teaching Award: John Protevi, Department of French Studies, College of Humanities & Social Sciences
- George H. Deer Distinguished Teaching Award: Barry Aronhime, Department of Biological Sciences, College of Science
- Carruth McGehee Award for Excellent Research by a Junior Faculty Member: No茅mie Elgrishi, Department of Chemistry, College of Science
- Outstanding Service-Learning Faculty Award: Nicholas Totaro, Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, College of Engineering
View the full list of 2025 University Faculty Award recipients.
Learn more about the five 2025 C-I Teaching Award Recipients
Erin McKinley, 2025 C-I Teaching & Service Excellence Award recipient
For Dr. Erin McKinley, helping students succeed in dietetics means more than teaching facts鈥攊t means helping them learn how to communicate with confidence and professionalism. As an Associate Professor and Director of the Didactic Program in Dietetics at 海角社区, Erin has created a clear path for students to grow as communicators and stand out in their careers.
Since 2019, she has taught Communication-Intensive (C-I) courses like Professionalism in Dietetics and Community Nutrition, where students don鈥檛 just study nutrition鈥攖hey learn how to present their ideas, give and receive feedback, and develop strong written and spoken communication. She even created a peer review tool called the 鈥淕.E.A.U.X Write Form,鈥� which her students continue to use to strengthen their writing and critical thinking skills.
Erin also built a direct path for dietetics students to earn the 海角社区 CxC Communicator Certificate, giving them a competitive edge. As Dr. Georgianna Tuuri, Chair of the School of Nutrition and Food Sciences, explains: 鈥淗er creation of the direct pathway to the 海角社区 CxC Communicator Certificate has put the 海角社区 Dietetics program ahead of our competitors and increased the success of our students in earning placements in graduate programs and dietetic internships.鈥�
Erin鈥檚 impact is measurable. From 2020 to 2024, every single student who completed her preparation course and applied to a graduate or supervised practice program in dietetics was accepted. As she notes in her research, 鈥淎mong all graduates from the classes of 2020 to 2024, 100% (n=119) who took the preparation course and applied were successfully admitted to a graduate program and/or supervised practice program for dietetics.鈥�
Her efforts have been recognized nationally. In 2022, she received the Outstanding Dietetics Educator Award from the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, and was named a High-Impact Author by the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior. As the first CxC Faculty Fellow from the College of Agriculture, Erin has not only elevated her own teaching, but created a model for others to follow.
Erin鈥檚 students leave her classes more confident, more capable, and more prepared to lead in the fields of nutrition and food sciences鈥攁 testament to her belief that strong communication is essential for strong careers.
Sadie Wilks, 2025 C-I Teaching & Service Excellence Award recipient
When Sadie Wilks steps into the classroom, she brings more than lessons鈥攕he brings real-world experience, deep care for her students, and a passion for strong communication. As a Senior Instructor in the Manship School of Mass Communication, Sadie draws on her 17 years in public relations to help students build confidence and clarity in how they express themselves.
Her commitment hasn鈥檛 gone unnoticed. Manship Dean Kim Bissell calls her 鈥渁 steadfast advocate for student communication skills development,鈥� noting that her teaching 鈥減lays a pivotal role in enhancing students' multimodal communication skills,鈥� and helps ensure 鈥渟tudents not only learn these vital skills but also gain the confidence to apply them in real-world contexts.鈥�
Sadie joined 海角社区 in 2015 and quickly recognized that teaching required new tools. She attended the Faculty Summer Institute in 2016, which, as she puts it, helped her 鈥渢ransition from practitioner to educator鈥� and connected her with resources and a teaching community that she still values. She later returned to the Institute as a presenter, calling it 鈥渙ne of the highlights of my teaching career thus far.鈥�
Since then, Sadie has brought Communication-Intensive (C-I) strategies into 26 course sections, especially her Public Relations Writing and Public Relations Campaigns classes, which are certified written and technological communication. She鈥檚 also a go-to resource for colleagues working to improve communication in their own courses and served as a C-I Teaching Fellow during the 2023鈥�24 academic year.
Her support for students doesn鈥檛 stop when class ends. She has mentored 14 students who earned 海角社区鈥檚 Distinguished Communicator medal鈥攁n honor that reflects excellence in written, spoken, visual, and technological communication. As former student Ryan Castellon put it, 鈥渢here is truly no faculty member as in-touch with the tools students need to be successful.鈥�
Nolde Alexius, 2025 Lillian Bridwell-Bowles Innovative C-I Teacher Award recipient
For more than 25 years, Nolde Alexius has been inspiring 海角社区 students to read deeply, think critically, and find their own voice through writing and speaking. As a longtime faculty member in the Department of English, Nolde blends creativity, care, and a deep love for literature into every course she teaches.
One of her most popular courses鈥擨ntroduction to Fiction鈥攗ses 海角社区鈥檚 literary history as a foundation. Students walk the campus, explore archives at Hill Memorial Library, and study the works of writers who once sat in the same classrooms they do now. 鈥淪howing them the excellence that has been achieved in literature by people who walked the same halls鈥� reinforces the feasibility of their meeting high expectations in our course and beyond,鈥� Nolde says.
The course is certified as Communication-Intensive (C-I) in written and spoken communication, and students practice these skills through thoughtful writing assignments and oral presentations that build over the semester. Across 22 C-I sections taught, Nolde has developed a strong track record of high-impact teaching. Her student evaluations consistently highlight her supportive approach, her clarity, and her commitment to student success. One student shared, 鈥淪he was one of the best instructors I have ever had鈥� It is a really fun class.鈥�
English Department Chair Sue Weinstein notes, 鈥淭here is a clear pattern in student comments about Nolde鈥檚 passion for the subject she teaches, care for student learning and well-being, and thoughtful planning and support. These are, indeed, the hallmarks of a great educator.鈥�
Nolde鈥檚 work in communication doesn鈥檛 stop in the English department. She served as a Writing Instruction Specialist for 海角社区鈥檚 College of Art + Design, helping architecture students strengthen their writing and communication. That experience鈥攂lending visual design with storytelling鈥攈as deeply influenced her teaching philosophy. She believes that a strong sense of place can shape strong communication and encourages students to connect personally with the subjects they explore.
鈥淎s Department Head, I have seen first-hand Ms. Alexius鈥檚 unwavering dedication to her students and her innovative approaches to teaching that embody the principles of C-I instruction,鈥� Weinstein adds.
Nolde puts it simply: 鈥淓ffective communication allows students to recognize the value of their unique voice.鈥�
Naomi Bennett, 2025 Lillian Bridwell-Bowles Innovative C-I Teacher Award recipient
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 the Symbolic Self-Portrait assignment made me embrace my own aesthetic鈥� I ended up creating something 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 the next generation of thoughtful communicators.
Soo Jeong Jo, 2025 Lillian Bridwell-Bowles Innovative C-I Teacher Award recipient
For Dr. Soo Jeong Jo, teaching architecture is about more than design鈥攊t's about helping students think clearly, analyze deeply, and communicate effectively. Since 2019, she has consistently woven Communication-Intensive (C-I) strategies into her courses, bringing communication to the center of the learning process in 海角社区鈥檚 School of Architecture.
鈥淢y innovative C-I teaching practices influenced my students鈥� learning and development to be more interactive, diverse, and engaging,鈥� Soo explains. Her classes are full of active learning: students play gesture games to improve oral communication, sketch quickly to build visual storytelling skills, and use tools like the 鈥淩ose, Thorn, and Bud鈥� discussion exercise to explore and critique design ideas with clarity and structure.
These creative strategies help students connect with complex, data-heavy content that might otherwise feel abstract. Whether guiding group discussions or securing new digital tools and engagement resources through over $22,000 in grant funding, Soo works to make sure students have the tools they need to succeed鈥攂oth in the classroom and beyond.
She is also a dedicated learner herself. Soo has participated in 海角社区鈥檚 Faculty Summer Institute and the C-I Teaching Lab, crediting these experiences with helping her grow as an educator. As she puts it, C-I practices open the door to 鈥渟ystematic thinking, critical analysis, and effective communication.鈥�
The results speak for themselves. Soo has taught 14 C-I course sections over six years, and her students鈥� work has been recognized nationally at events like the National Conference on Undergraduate Research and the ACSA | AISC International Steel Design Competition, where her students took second place in 2021.
College of Art & Design Interim Dean Rod Parker calls her 鈥渁 scholar and practitioner in Architecture who is totally engaged in her profession and totally dedicated to excellence in research and creative activity and, above all, in her dedication to the spirit and practice exemplified by Lillian Bridwell Bowles.鈥�
Students agree. School of Architecture Director Marwan Ghandour, shares that 鈥淧rofessor Jo is highly sought by motivated students to study with her or work under her supervision鈥� because she is diligent in teaching them the research, professional, and communication tools to produce innovative and well-represented projects.鈥�