Purpose
The Meada Gibbs Outstanding Teacher Award recognizes, encourages, and rewards excellence in teaching business communication. The award is sponsored by textbook authors Debbie D. DuFrene and Carol M. Lehman. Applicants must be current members of ABC, and they must be self-nominated or nominated by an ABC member. Prior award winners and members of the Teaching Committee are ineligible to nominate a candidate.
At the ABC annual convention, the Teaching Committee will honor the recipient with a plaque and a check. The recipient will present a paper at the following year’s conference plenary session.
Eligibility Criteria
Criteria for selection are
- Significant contributions to business communication teaching methodology and concepts.
- Current teaching or training experience with business communication or related courses
- Positive student/participant and peer/administrative evaluations
- Conference presentations, publications, and/or research record (publications must include teaching-related articles in the Business Communication Quarterly and/or The Journal of Business Communication)
Note: Because all members of ABC seem to be good at business communication teaching methodology and concepts in the classroom, the committee looks for evidence of excellence on a larger scale (e.g., teachers with textbooks or significant pedagogical publications, teachers who have established international programs for their students, teachers who have extended communication skills on a wider level on their campus or community).
Nomination Procedures
Applicants must be nominated by a current ABC member or self-nominated. Nomination letters, either by post or email attachment, are due to the Teaching Committee chair, Marilyn Dyrud, on July 1. Application packets are due by August 15. Prior award winners and members of the Teaching Committee are ineligible to nominate a candidate.
For prior candidates who are being renominated, a new nomination letter is required.
Teaching Committee Chair
Marilyn A. Dyrud
Communications Department
Oregon Institute of Technology
3201 Campus Drive
Klamath Falls, OR 97601
Email: marilyn.dyrud@oit.edu
Phone: 541.885.1504 (work) 541.883.2365 (home) 541.281.3306 (cell)
Application Procedures
The chair will acknowledge receipt of the nomination via email to the nominator and nominee. The application package is due to the chair by August 15. It should be a portfolio, submitted electronically as one .pdf file, and include the following:
- Resume (limited to 3 pages)
- A statement of teaching philosophy
- Description of research and its significance to teaching business communication (including 2- 3 recent publications or abstracts)
- Evidence of positive teaching evaluations (limited to 6 pages) and a brief explanation
- Letters of support from dean and department chair
- List of up to 10 most significant publications, including at least one pedagogical article from either Business Communication Quarterly or Journal of Business Communication
The portfolio must not exceed 30 pages. Please note that the committee will not consider incomplete portfolios nor any pages beyond 30.
Evaluation Process
Committee members will independently review the credentials of each nominee and determine a winner. The committee chair will announce the recipient during the plenary session of the annual conference. Members of the ABC Teaching Committee are ineligible to receive the award.
