The recipient of the 2012 Andersch Award is Dr. Ann Bainbridge Frymier, who is a Professor of Communication and Associate Dean of the Graduate School at Miami University.   Dr. Frymier's Andersch Award Lecture,  "Teacher-Student Relationships and Communication," is scheduled for Friday, May 11, 2012 from 3-4:15 PM in the Scripps Hall Auditorium.   COMS faculty, graduate students, and friends are welcome to attend the lecture and a pre-lecture reception in the Scripps Atrium at 2:30. 

Ann Bainbridge Frymier is a Professor of Communication and Associate Dean of the Graduate School at Miami University. Dr. Frymier has published more than 25 articles in instructional communication with her research appearing in Communication Education, Applied Journal of Communication, and Communication Quarterly among others. Additionally she has several book chapters and is co-author of Persuasion Theory: Integrating Theory, Research, and Practice, which is coming out in a 3rd edition. Her research has focused on teacher communication behaviors that facilitate student motivation and learning. Behaviors of particular interest have included nonverbal immediacy, affinity-seeking, content relevance, and most recently humor. She has developed multiple measures including the learner empowerment measure and the learning indicators scale that have helped advance the study of instructional communication. In addition to teacher communication behaviors, Dr. Frymier has frequently examined student characteristics and perceptions in the classroom, such as students’ communication effectiveness, empowerment, and communication predispositions. An underlying assumption of this research is that the learning process involves teachers and students engaging with one another on both content and relational levels. In 2009 Dr. Frymier was named a Centennial Scholar by the Eastern Communication Association in recognition of her research contributions.

Dr. Frymier has taught a variety of courses during her career including organizational, nonverbal, intercultural, health communication, and instructional communication, but most frequently teaches persuasion, research methods, and interpersonal communication. Dr. Frymier also worked closely with masters students, having directed several theses and non-theses projects, and continues to mentor students as they move on to doctoral programs. Dr. Frymier received the Donald H. Ecroyd and Caroline Drummond Ecroyd Teaching Excellence Award from the Eastern Communication Association in 2007 and was nominated for the Effective Education Award in 2006 by Miami alumni. Other roles at Miami University have included serving as director of the basic communication course at Miami, assistant to the chair, and graduate director.

Dr. Frymier has also been active in service to the discipline of communication and to Miami University. She is currently in her 5th year as Associate Dean of the Graduate School. She has been an active member of the Eastern Communication Association having served as President in 2003. Additionally she has served several roles in the National Communication Association including Chair of the Instructional Development Division. She is a frequent participant at conferences having presented over a 100 papers, panels, and workshops. Dr. Frymier also serves on the editorial boards of several journals including Communication Education, Communication Quarterly, Communication Research Reports, Communication Teacher, and the Journal of Intercultural Communication.

Dr. Frymier received an Ed.D. in communication and curriculum instruction from West Virginia University in 1992, and received a MPH (master of public health) in health education and behavior from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill in 1988.

More information about Dr. Frymier can be found at: http://www.units.muohio.edu/communication/faculty_staff/faculty-frymiera.php