By Margaret Garmon

Doctoral Student

Alan Rubin, Jerry Feezel, Becky Rubin

Showing off their awards presented at the National Communication Association Conference, are, from left, Alan Rubin, Jerry Feezel and Rebecca Rubin.

A reception held at the National Communication Association Conference in Chicago Friday was an opportunity for alumni and friends of the School of Communication Studies at Kent State University to visit with faculty, administrators and students. The reception was also an opportunity to honor three long-time NCA members and KSU faculty on the occasion of their retirement from KSU.

Alan Rubin, Rebecca Rubin and Jerry Feezel were the guests of honor at the reception hosted by KSU.

For the Rubins, their responsibilities during more than two decades each at KSU included administrative and teaching duties. Alan was director of the school. Both served as director of the Communication Research Center and graduate coordinator at various times. Alan and Becky (as she is known to colleagues and students) were also professors known for their dedication while fulfilling these and many other duties.

Jerry retired as a professor and has since returned as an instructor in Communication Studies and as Director of the Teaching Assistant Program for Research and Graduate Studies.

Rozell Duncan, assistant professor in Communication Studies, welcomed the more than 150 well-wishers in attendance and then introduced Stan Wearden, interim director of the school. Rozell also took photos for the school website and the photo included in this column.

Wearden paid tribute to the Alan, Becky and Jerry, noting that it was incredibly rare to have this much talent retire in a single year. Among the three retirees, they have published more than 250 articles, monographs, books and reviews.

“These three are scholar citizens of Kent State University whose hard work over the years has made a tremendous contribution to KSU,” Wearden said.

Alan, Becky and Jerry directed more than 40 percent of the doctoral dissertations in Communication Studies, and they did this while teaching three classes. They also served the greater university community by their participation on several committees and with projects.

These many duties (too numerous to mention in one article) included Alan and Becky both serving as director of the Communication Research Center and director of graduate studies. Jerry, an emeritus professor of communication studies, was a member of Faculty Senate.

In speaking for the alumni and the school, Stan extended his personal thank you for their “leadership, service, and selfless mentoring to so many students.”

James Gaudino, dean of the College of Communication and Information, presented each of the three with a special plaque in gratitude of what Alan, Becky and Jerry have done for both KSU the school, NCA the organization and communications the profession. Previous to coming to KSU last year, Gaudino had served as executive director of NCA.

Sherry Morreale, associate director and interim director for External Affairs for NCA, added to the praise for the honorees, noting that Alan, Becky and Jerry’s contributions to NCA are valued by the entire discipline and by the people gathered at the reception to personally thank them.

In accepting their plaques, Becky and Alan credited the excellent faculty and strong program in making Communication Studies at KSU the nationally respected program that it is today. Certainly, acknowledgment for Alan, Becky and Jerry from their peers on a national level is an indication of that respect.

In accepting his plaque, Jerry told the audience that he started at KSU in 1973, “the second smartest decision I made in my life. The first smartest decision was marrying my wife Jennelle.” Jerry’s lovely wife, Jenelle Feezel, was also in attendance.

The School of Communication Studies was very well represented with several graduate students and faculty members being selected to present papers and to participate in panels.

Of special note is Mei-Chen Lin, an assistant professor, whose dissertation was selected to receive the Best Dissertation in Communication and Aging Award for 2004.  She was honored at the Division of Communication and Aging Business Meeting at NCA Friday. Her dissertation, “Intergenerational Communication Schemas in Taiwan and U.S.: Cognitive and Communication Related Variables,” was completed it in 2003.  Her advisor was Jake Harwood, currently an associate professor at the University of Arizona.