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By DONALD MOTTERN | Staff Writer

MONTEVALLO – The University of Montevallo has been selected as the recipient of the 2024 Rex Mix Program of Excellence Award according to an announcement made by the university on Monday, Aug. 19.

The award, which is presented annually by the National Communication Association, recognizes achievements across the leading undergraduate communication programs from throughout the United States.

“UM is very fortunate to have such outstanding communication faculty who are dedicated to (the) continuous improvement of their program and ongoing efforts to ensure student success,” said Dr. Ray Ozley, chair of the Department of Communication. “We are also fortunate to have relationships with community partners like the David Mathews Center for Civic Life, who help us provide meaningful experiential learning opportunities for our students.”

The University of Montevallo’s 2024 bestowment continues a running record for the institution and matches another. Having already been the only school in the state of Alabama to receive the award in the accolade’s 30-year history, UM will also join Augustana College as one of only two institutions to have ever received the award twice.

The university’s communication studies program and its deliberative communication initiative—led by Dr. Sally Hardig and Dr. Sherry Ford—has been described as the face of this year’s submission for the award.

Through the work of Hardig and Ford, the communication studies program was recently awarded a $10,000 grant, sourced from the Jean O’Connor-Snyder Internship Program, that was used to fund the school’s Falcon Facilitators program.

Falcon Facilitators, which has received the JOIP grant on three occasions, is a public deliberation and civic engagement program that encourages students at the university to engage local students, community members and one another in public forums that encompass a variety of issues.

Through those forums, students work to organize efforts that identify real community problems while using deliberative practices and community problem-solving efforts in attempts to solve them.

Representatives from UM’s Communication Studies Program will officially receive the Rex Mix Program of Excellence Award during the NCA Conference that will take place in New Orleans later this year on Nov. 21-24.

Those seeking more information about the University of Montevallo’s Communication Studies Program can visit Montevallo.edu/communication-studies to learn more.