Guest post by Pam Estes Brewer, Academic SIG Manager. This is the first of another series of guest bloggers, this one focusing on the academic side of technical communication.
The STC Summit 2013 in Atlanta was a wonderful experience. I learned about the latest trends in technical communication so that I can bring them back to my students, and I networked with many people (educators and practitioners) who are interested in preparing students to become excellent practitioners.
The Academic SIG saw a definite upsurge in interest in student members, which was punctuated by the entire STC Board of Directors attending the student poster competition. We announced the launch of the new Mentorboard. And, we celebrated with the me mbers and friends of our SIG who were award winners this year. Let me share just a few of those honors with you:
- For the second year, the Academic SIG was recognized as an STC Community of Excellence
- Craig Baehr, Texas Tech University and a member of the SIG Administrative Council, was named an Associate Fellow
- Bethany Bowles, University of Central Florida, received an Academic SIG Volunteer of the Year award for her work with student mentoring
- Samantha Gale, Appalachian State University, won first place in the student poster competition
- Sally Henschel and Carol Anne Wall, members of the SIG Administrative Council, received Distinguished SIG Service Awards
- Mak Pandit, Technowrites Pvt. Ltd., India, was named an Associate Fellow
- Kirk St.Amant, East Carolina University, was honored with the Jay R. Gould Award for Excellence in Teaching
- Dan Voss, Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control, won both a President’s Award and an Academic SIG Volunteer of the Year award for his work with student mentoring
I send sincere congratulations to these and other award winners. In addition, STC inducted four new students into the honor society Sigma Tau Delta. It was a good year!
The Academic SIG welcomes all STC Members who are interested in educational issues: practitioners, students, and educators. Please consider joining our winning team in the work of creating another year of support for educating the technical communication professionals of tomorrow.
You can learn more about our SIG at our website, www.stc-academic.org.