UCSB communication professors honored for lifetime of achievements

A pair of professors in UC Santa Barbara’s Department of Communication have been recognized with awards for lifetime achievement.

Most recently, Tamara Afifi, who serves as department chair, won the Mark L. Knapp Award in Interpersonal Communication from the National Communication Association (NCA). Her research focuses on how family members communicate with one another and how this impacts their personal, relational, physiological and mental health, particularly in stressful circumstances, such as within families that are undocumented, living in refugee camps or coping with chronic illness, divorce or elder caregiving. 

“I am deeply honored and humbled to have received this award, especially when there are so many scholars who are worthy of receiving it,” Afifi said.

Distinguished Professor Cynthia Stohl received the Steven Chaffee Career Achievement Award, presented by the International Communication Association (ICA), for her sustained contribution to theoretical development and empirical research related to communication studies.

For more than four decades, Stohl has made “exceptional contributions to the field of communication through her studies of organizational communication network dynamics, globalization and emerging technologies,” according to the ICA. “Her work has pushed the boundaries of organizational and group studies, illustrating the importance of studying global connectedness, cultural embeddedness and the communicative force of digital visibility.” 

“It is truly an overwhelming experience to be so honored by my colleagues,” Stohl said. “This award is grounded in the extraordinary conversations and collaborations I have had with my graduate students and faculty across the globe. It is their dedication and commitment to the centrality of communication in addressing global challenges that continues to inspire and motivate me.”