History

School History

The School of Communication Studies (COMS), one of five schools in the Scripps College of Communication, was renamed in 2002 from the School of Interpersonal Communication (InCo). The program, in some fashion, has been part of the fabric of ��ý since 1808 when the first courses on logic (dialectic) and persuasion (rhetoric) were taught in English. The School of Interpersonal Communication was created in 1964 as one of three programs in the newly created College of Communication. Since then our scholarly instruction and research in organizational and interpersonal communication, health and relational communication, public advocacy and cultural studies in a globally and technologically advanced society continues to explore the challenges inherent to human communication.

For a review of our contemporary program, please explore both the Undergraduate, Master's degree and Doctoral pages to gain a better understanding of our curriculum, as well as the Faculty/Staff Directory to review the scholarly interests of our faculty.

Recognition

Honoring visionaries and trailblazers is a longtime COMS tradition, and a cherished part of our ever-evolving history. We are proud to recognize scholars, Elizabeth G. Andersch and Paul H. Boase, through two unique awards.

Elizabeth G. Andersch joined the faculty at ��ý in 1943 and was the first woman to be accorded tenure and promotion to Full Professor within the school. Dr. Andersch was recognized for her efforts to promote women and other historically excluded voices at ��ý and beyond through teaching and mentorship. As described by Paul Boase, the School Director who established the Elizabeth G. Andersch Award in 1973, the award honors “the tradition of excellence in teaching, research, and service she embodied as a member of our faculty.”

OHIO UNIVERSITY ANNOUNCES THE ELIZABETH G. ANDERSCH AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING TEACHING, SCHOLARSHIP, & MENTORSHIP

The faculty of the School of Communication Studies at ��ý welcome nominations for the Elizabeth G. Andersch Award for Outstanding Teaching, Scholarship, & Mentorship in the Communication Discipline.

The Andersch Award was established in 1972 to honor Elizabeth G. Andersch. Elizabeth G. Andersch (Ph.D., University of Iowa, 1941) joined the faculty at ��ý in 1943. Dr. Andersch was the first woman to earn tenure within the School of Dramatic Art and Speech, now the School of Communication Studies, at ��ý. Her book, Speech for Everyday Use, was a foundational work connecting applied principles of public speaking with the then-emergent field of communication theory and communication philosophy. Perhaps more important, Dr. Andersch was recognized for her efforts to promote women and other historically excluded voices at ��ý and beyond through teaching and mentorship. We look to honor an inspirational scholar who, like Dr. Andersch, embraces these commitments.

The Andersch Award, therefore, honors a member of the communication discipline who is acknowledged as an outstanding teacher, scholar, and mentor. As described by Paul Boase, the School Director who established the Award fund, the Andersch Award honors “the tradition of excellence in teaching, research, and service she embodied as a member of our faculty.” The criteria used for the award selection reflect Dr. Andersch’s academic life and thus include the recipient’s enactment of mentorship across teaching, research, and service and a record of excellence of integrating teaching and research commitments. A faculty panel from the School of Communication Studies will review submissions and select the Award winner.

Recipients of the Andersch Award will receive an honorarium of $500 and will be invited to come to the ��ý campus in the fall or spring following their award selection for a public presentation of scholarship on a topic of their choosing.

Nominators will be asked to provide a letter of support that speaks to the award selection criteria, as well as a copy of the nominee’s current CV, along with an indication that the nominee is willing to be considered for the Award. Self-nominations are accepted but must be accompanied by a letter of support from another individual as well.

Nominations may be sent electronically to Lynn Harter, Chair, Andersch Award Selection Committee, at harter@ohio.edu. Materials must be received by November 17th, 2025, for consideration. Email correspondence concerning the award is welcome.

Past winners of the Andersch Award:

2024 - Dr. Angela Cooke-Jackson
2014 - Dr. Arvind Singhal
2012 - Dr. Ann Bainbridge Frymier
2011 - Dr. Larry Frey
2010 - Dr. Ronald C. Arnett
2007 - Dr. Sandra Petronio
2006 - Dr. Art Bochner
2005 - Dr. Fredric M. Jablin
2004 - Dr. Karlyn Kohrs Campbell
2003 - Dr. Gustav Friedrich
2002 - Dr. Larry Grossberg
2001 - Dr. Eric Eisenberg
2000 - Dr. Robert Scott
1999 - Dr. Sue DeWine
1998 - Dr. Leslie Baxter
1997 - Mr. Matt Lauer
1996 - Dr. Julia Wood
1995 - Dr. Steve Duck
1994 - Dr. Jesse Delia
1993 - Dr. Erwin Bettinghaus
1992 - Ms. Nancy Cartwright
1991 - Dr. Linda Putnam
1990 - Dr. Everett Rogers
1989 - Dr. Walter Fisher
1988 - Dr. W. Barnett Pearce
1987 - Dr. Ray E. Wagner
1986 - Dr. L. Edna Rogers
1985 - Dr. Don Faules
1984 - Dr. Samuel Becker
1983 - Dr. Robert G. Gunderson
1982 - Dr. Gerald R. Miller
1981 - Dr. Loren Reid
1980 - Dr. Paul H. Boase
1979 - Dr. W. Charles Redding
1978 - Dr. Jeffrey Auer
1977 - Dr. Virginia Hahne
1976 - Dr. Bowler Aly
1975 - Dr. Barb Leib-Brilhart
1974 - Dr. Mary Ellen Ludlum
1973 - Dr. Ruth A. Wilcox

Paul H. Boase was regarded as a visionary in the field of communication.The founding director of what was then called the School of Interpersonal Communication, Boase led a faculty charged with developing a distinct niche for the study of human communication within ��ý’s new College of Communication. Ahead of his time in many ways, Boase—whose specialty, like many communication scholars of the time, was public address—helped create a school in which scholars could explore facets and forms of communication beyond public speaking. As a result of his founding leadership of the School from 1964-1981, COMS today is internationally known for engaging questions of communication that span a variety of contexts. Dr. Boase died December 13, 2000. The Boase Prize for scholarship was created to, in the words of his wife Connie, “keep his name alive” in the field. Befitting his legacy, the award is given annually to scholars who have demonstrated outstanding scholarship in any area of communication.

Past winners of the Boase Prize:

2025 - Dr. Laura Ellingson
2025 - Dr. Walid Afifi
2024 - Dr. J. Kevin Barge
2016 - Dr. Ronald C. Arnett
2015 - Dr. Karen Foss
2014 - Dr. Karen Tracy
2013 - Dr. Kent A. Ono
2011 - Dr. Brenda Allen
2010 - Dr. Barbara Sharf
2009 - Dr. David Seibold
2008 - Dr. Bonnie J. Dow
2007 - Dr. Carole Blair
2006 - Drs. Robert Hariman and John Lucaites
2005 - Dr. Gerry Philipsen
2004 - Dr. Martin Medhurst
2003 - Dr. James Andrews

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