UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Five tenure-track faculty members, two adjunct instructors and a pair of staff members earned Deans’ Excellence Awards from the College of Communications at Penn State, recognizing their commitment, expertise and the quality of their work.

Faculty award winners were:

• Tara Wyckoff, lecturer, advertising/public relations, Deans’ Excellence Award for Teaching;
• Lee Ahern, associate professor, advertising/public relations, Deans’ Excellence Award for Service; 
• Anne Hoag, associate professor, telecommunications, Deans’ Excellence Award for Service;
• Michael Schmierbach, associate professor, media studies, Deans’ Excellence Award for Research and Creative Activity; and 
• Will Yurman, senior lecturer, journalism, Deans’ Excellence Award for Integrated Scholarship.

Honored as outstanding faculty affiliates were: Chris Maurer, who teaches introductory film courses, and Katie O’Toole, who teaches podcasting and assisted with an international reporting course this year.

Staff members Kyrie Harding, an academic adviser, and Brian Shoenfelt, a multimedia production specialist, earned the Deans’ Excellence Award for Staff.

Also, graduate students Sushma Kumble and Chun Yang earned the Djung Tchoi Graduate Teaching Award.

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