18 Nov WSC Professor Awarded Scholar of the Year
WILLISTON, N.D. – Last week, Kim Weismann, Professor of Communication at Williston State College, was honored by the National States Advisory Council (NSAC) for her extensive portfolio of scholarly works and distinctive teaching career and was named the winner of the 2019 Scholar of the Year Award.
A national award, the Scholar of the Year Award is given annually to communication scholars who have excelled in adding scholarship to the communication field.
Weismann accepted the award in person at the National Communication Association’s (NCA) 105th Annual Conference in Baltimore, Maryland.
NCA is not-for profit membership-based scholarly society, founded in 1914, with a mission to advance communication as a discipline. The NSAC is a group within the NCA.
Weismann has served as the North Dakota representative with the NSAC for about four years.
“It is an honor to receive this award as it was open to all 50 states,” emphasized Weismann. “It is also great that North Dakota is being recognized.”
Earlier this year, Weismann was also recognized as the Communication Speech and Theatre Association of North Dakota (CSTAND) Scholar of the Year. This state-level award recognizes an individual who has had articles published in journals or papers presented at state, regional or national conventions/conferences.
Potential winners of the NSAC 2019 Scholar of the Year Award are nominated by their peers and applications are reviewed by the NSAC. Dr. Eric Grabosky, Associate Professor of Communication at Dickinson State University, nominated Weismann.
“It is my understanding that Dr. Grabowsky nominated me because he felt that me winning the CSTAND award at the state-level was an honor and he felt I was worthy of the national honor as well,” explained Weismann. “Being from a community college where we do not have a lot of time for research because I spend most of my time teaching and on service, I feel incredibly honored. I feel that often people at community colleges go unrecognized for research because we are not at ‘research-focused’ institutions.”
Weismann’s contributions to the field of communication research are extensive and far-reaching and she has given numerous presentations at state, regional, and national conferences. She recently co-authored an article titled, “Exploring active learning theories, practices, and contexts,” in the scholarly journal, Communication Research Trends. Weismann is currently working on a project about plagiarism with colleagues from around the state of North Dakota.
In her 10th academic year at WSC, Weismann teaches Fundamentals of Public Speaking, Organizational Communication, Interpersonal Communication, and Intercultural Communication, as well as two college-readiness courses. She also serves as the Department Chair for the Arts and Human Sciences.
Outside of academia, Weismann is heavily involved in the WSC and Williston communities. Her involvement includes serving as the Faculty Senate President for the 7th year at WSC and her 10th year as a leader for the Sweet Clovers 4-H Club in Williston.
And to top it all, Weismann will defend her dissertation, “Examining the Perceived Challenges in Offering Public Speaking Courses Online,” in the coming weeks to graduate from the University of South Dakota with her Ed. D. in Curriculum and Instruction.
When asked about how it feels to be so involved and to have received various accolades, Weismann humbly replied, “I appreciate the recognition but find that no matter what, it is important to stay active in my discipline and community. I plan to continue to do so and hope others see the importance as well.”
For more information on this story and the NSAC Scholar of the Year Award, please contact Kim Weismann, Professor of Communication, at 701.774.4503 or kim.weismann@willistonstate.edu.
For more information, please visit www.willistonstate.edu, call 701.774.4200, or stop by 1410 University Avenue, Williston, ND.