Ohio University's Raymie McKerrow Wins Prestigious Research Honor
ATHENS, Ohio -- Raymie McKerrow, interim associate provost for graduate studies at Ohio University and a professor in the School of Interpersonal Communication, has been named a recipient of the 2001 Charles H. Woolbert Research Award from the National Communication Association. He will receive the honor at the association's annual meeting in November.
The Woolbert Award, given annually to a person whose publication has stood the test of time, is reserved for articles that are 10 to 15 years old. McKerrow is the first Ohio University professor to receive the award.
McKerrow won the honor for his essay, "Critical Rhetoric: Theory and Practice," which appeared in Communication Monographs in 1989. It synthesized a broad range of Continental critical theory and applied this theory to scholarship in the field of communication.
"This is our largest professional association," said Greg Shepherd, director of the School of Interpersonal Communication. "It's the one most influential body in the discipline, so any award they give is a big deal."
McKerrow said the essay was the combination of two other essays, one about theory and one about practice. Neither could stand alone, so he joined the two. "By linking the two and trimming, I was able to get something that would work," McKerrow said. "They both needed each other."
Krishna P. Kandath, who was a doctoral student of McKerrow's, nominated him for the award. Kandath is now an assistant professor in the Department of Communication and Journalism at the University of New Mexico.
"I considered his work to be a truly landmark essay because it signaled a change in the conception of rhetorical theory and criticism," Kandath said.
"The fact that the essay has generated continued discussion and been cited more than 100 times attests to its importance for communication scholars, especially in the rhetoric and critical traditions of intercultural communication."
McKerrow, who received his Ph.D. from the University of Iowa in 1974, has been a professor at Ohio University since 1995. From 1996 to 1997, he served as a special assistant to the dean for grants, and in 2000 he was named associate dean for the College of Communication. He accepted his current position in 2001.
