By Andrea Estrada

The National Communication Association has awarded special recognition to four faculty members in the Department of Communication at UC Santa Barbara. The awards were presented at the organization’s recent annual convention in Chicago.

Howard Giles, professor of communication, received the Distinguished Scholar Award in recognition of his outstanding scholarship. Along with UCSB colleagues Linda Putnam and David Seibold, he is one of only 50 National Communication Association (NCA) distinguished scholars, and one of only 11 scholars, including Putnam, who have been honored by both the NCA and the International Communication Association.

Other honors received by faculty members include the 2007 Best Article Award, which was presented to Michael Stohl, professor and chair of the department, and his wife, Cynthia, also a professor of communication. The scholars were recognized for their article titled “Networks of Terror: Theoretical Assumptions and Pragmatic Consequences.” It was published in the May 2007 issue of the professional journal Communication Theory.

In addition, the organization awarded top paper honors to Karen Myers, assistant professor of communication, for her work titled “Toward an Integrative Theory of Membership Negotiations: Socialization, Assimilation, and the Duality of Structure.”

“The recognition received by Howard Giles, Michael Stohl, Cynthia Stohl and Karen Myers are all emphatic reminders of the stellar status of our Communication Department,” said Melvin Oliver, dean of social sciences. “Moreover, receipt of these awards also represents the depth of excellence that is in the department, from those who are icons of the field to our junior scholars.”

Said Giles, an expert in intergroup communication, about his award: “I am deeply honored to receive this high profile award, given the small number and the caliber of prior recipients. I am blessed to have such incisive colleagues and graduate students here at UCSB without whose diverse and valued contributions this would not have been possible.”

Giles’s current work involves intergenerational communication, lifespan aging, and—from cross-cultural and law enforcement perspectives—civilian interactions and community policing issues. He has been a highly decorated reserve officer with the Santa Barbara Police Department for more than 10 years.

“The National Communication Association’s Distinguished Scholar Award is presented to a select group of individuals who have been recognized by their peers for a career of outstanding scholarship devoted to improving our understanding of human communication,” said Michael Stohl.

Founded in 1914, the NCA is a nonprofit scholarly society with a membership of more than 7,000 educators, practitioners, and students in the United States and 20 foreign countries.