A cluster of Phorum officers crowded into Dr. Tina Coffelt’s office to present her with the 2016 Phorum Faculty Award on Tuesday, January 31. Phorum recognizes one faculty member annually for outstanding professional and academic support of Rhetoric and Professional Communication (RPC) graduate students.
Dr. Coffelt, an assistant professor in Communication Studies and English, has taught research methods courses for RPC students. In Spring 2016, she taught ENGL 501: Research Methods in Rhetoric and Professional Communication. She has also taught ENGL 602B, a course on quantitative research methods.
Several of Dr. Coffelt’s students have asked her to serve on their program of study committees.
Jillian Grauman, president of Phorum, selected Dr. Coffelt as a co-chair of her committee. “I selected Tina because she had the quantitative expertise that I needed, and I also knew her from our class to be supportive and helpful” Ms. Grauman said. “She is supportive, she does a good job of checking in on her students, and she cares a lot about her grad students really understanding what they’re taking on.”
Dr. Coffelt also served as the English department’s Director of RPC for the 2015–2016 school year. As Director of RPC, she frequently asked graduate students for input on departmental business, such as revisions to course requirements on the RPC program of study.
Voting for the 2017 Phorum Faculty Award will take place later this Spring semester, with ballots to be distributed after Spring Break (March 13–17). All Iowa State University students in RPC or Rhetoric, Composition, and Professional Communication (RCPC) will be eligible to vote.
Congratulations Tina!