Faculty member earns national Promising Professor Award

Dr. Lindsay McCluskey, assistant professor of public relations at SUNY Oswego, received the First Place Promising Professor Award at the AEJMC (Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication) Conference Mass Communication and Society Division Awards Luncheon in Toronto on Friday, Aug. 9. 

The Promising Professor Award annually honors junior faculty who have demonstrated excellence and innovation in teaching. Previous winners have come from schools such as University of South Carolina, University of Alabama, DePaul University, University of Texas at Austin and Elon University. 

Also advisement coordinator for the department of communication studies, McCluskey is entering her fourth year as a full-time tenure track faculty member at SUNY Oswego and has taught a variety of courses, including “Survey of Public Relations,” “Public Relations Writing,” “Public Relations Research,” “Public Relations Case Studies,” “Crisis Communication” and “Social Media Strategy.” 

“Her student course evaluations are excellent and the students speak very highly of her,” wrote Julie Pretzat, dean of the School of Communication, Media and Arts, in a letter of support. “Dr. McCluskey’s classes are infused with a good amount of hands-on learning, innovative ideas and teaching methods and real-world applications for the material students are learning.”

McCluskey received a 2019 Curriculum Innovation Grant and is developing a new elective course, "Arts, Entertainment and Sports Public Relations" for Spring 2020. Over the last three years, McCluskey has served as faculty sponsor for 73 internships, has overseen 22 independent studies, has mentored 12 teaching assistants and has supervised two undergraduate honors theses.

“She always has student learning at the forefront,” Pretzat noted. “Her advising and mentoring of students is also a notable strength of hers.”

While in Toronto, McCluskey also served as a research discussant for the Political Communication Interest Group and presented a research paper in the Public Relations Division. 

AEJMC is a nonprofit organization serving more than 3,700 members worldwide.