Jody Koenig Kellas, a Willa Cather professor of interpersonal, family and health communication and chair of the Department of Communication Studies, has earned the National Communication Association's Bernard J. Brommel Award for outstanding scholarship or distinguished service in family communication.
Koenig Kellas founded and runs the Narrative Nebraska lab, a research collective of faculty and graduate students in the department and some interdisciplinary partners. They study the links between storytelling and health and well-being. She has published one book, 25 book chapters, and 34 peer-reviewed articles. She has 12 awards from journals or societies for top paper or presentation and has earned research funding through university-based sources. She has leadership roles in the Preparing Future Faculty program and Peer Review of Teaching project and received the University of Nebraska system's Outstanding Teaching and Instructional Creativity Award in 2020, the Hazel R. McClymont Distinguished Teaching Award in 2018, and College Distinguished Teaching Awards in 2009 and 2016.
Dawn O. Braithwaite, professor emeritus, described Koenig Kellas as "a complete academic in all areas of the career, which is my highest praise, and an outstanding and inspiring family communication scholar, teacher, mentor, and contributor."
Koenig Kellas will receive the association's award at their annual meeting next month.
