Three COMM Faculty Named Graduate Faculty Mentors of the Year!

Congratulations to Dr. Knight Steele, Dr. Xiaoli Nan, & Dr. Carina Zelaya!

Congratulations to Associate Professor Dr. Knight Steele, Professor Dr. Xiaoli Nan, & Assistant Professor Dr. Carina Zelaya for being named Graduate Faculty Mentors of the Year in 2024! 

This year, 270 graduate students participated in nominating 33 faculty for the Graduate Faculty Mentor of the Year Award. A campus-wide selection committee, comprising graduate students and past Mentor of the Year Awardees evaluated the nominations. Ten faculty members were selected for the Graduate Faculty Mentor of the Year Award for 2024, three of which were members of the Department of Communication faculty! 

Outstanding faculty mentors are critical to graduate education and to creating a successful graduate student experience. The Graduate Faculty Mentor of the Year Award serves the dual purposes of recognizing outstanding mentoring provided by individual faculty and of reminding the university community of the importance of mentoring to graduate studies.

Learn more about the nomination process here.