Dr. Shannon Bates, Associate Professor of Communication, was presented with the Rose B. and Edgar B. McReynolds Faculty Excellence Award for the 2019-2020 academic year. The annual award honors one HIU faculty member that embodies teaching and learning excellence, as identified by the HIU community. Due to COVID19, the announcement was postponed from Spring of 2020 at Honors Convocation to fall’s 2020 Opening Convocation Ceremony.

Students who nominated Dr. Bates described her as “dynamic, engaging, entertaining, fun.” One student wrote, “She is incredibly intentional when it comes to helping her students grow.” Another student shared a story of how Dr. Bates, aware of their disability, personally escorted them to the Student Affairs office to start their accommodation process; and said that it was incredible to experience how deeply HIU faculty care about their students.

Upon hearing the announcement online while watching the live stream of the Opening Convocation Chapel, Dr. Bates commented, “HIU is a great place to be!”