Sherwyn “Sherry” Morreale, associate professor, Communication, University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, received the Samuel L. Becker Distinguished Service Award from the National Communication Association during the NCA’s annual convention in San Francisco Nov. 14-17.
Morreale was selected by peers for the Becker Award given annually to an NCA member who has given outstanding cumulative service in research, teaching and service to the NCA and the profession. Morreale served as NCA’s associate director from 1997 to 2005. Her work with the organization, as well as her own research and professional activities, were considered outstanding contributions to the NCA and the profession.
At UCCS, Morreale directs graduate studies for the Communication Department. Her research and teaching interests include instructional communication, public speaking, interpersonal and gender communication, diversity issues, organizational communication, and the assessment of communication competence. Her research has appeared in The Basic Communication Course Annual, Communication Education, The Communicator, Education, the Journal of the Association for Communication Administration, and The Successful Professor.
She is the lead author of two communication textbooks, “Human Communication: Motivation, Knowledge, and Skills” and “Excellence in Public Speaking.” She also has authored numerous articles and chapters for collected volumes and special monographs in the communication discipline including, most recently, “A Handbook for Graduate Students in Communication” published by the National Communication Association. Currently, she is working on a new public speaking textbook, a volume on trust in organizations, and the latest iteration of a national survey of the basic communication course.
Prior to 1997, she taught in the UCCS Communication Department and directed the activities of the Center for Excellence in Oral Communication on the UCCS campus.
UCCS, located on Austin Bluffs Parkway in Colorado Springs, is one of the fastest growing universities in the nation. The University offers 36 bachelor’s degrees, 19 master’s, and five doctoral degrees. The campus enrolls about 9,000 students annually.