UNT CLASS Dean

Meet the CLASS Advisory Board Faculty Award Nominees

The University of North Texas College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences Faculty Council has announced the twenty nominees for the 2023 CLASS Advisory Board Faculty Award.

All tenure-system CLASS faculty members are eligible, but previous recipients are not eligible for nomination during the five years following receipt of the award. UNT faculty must be nominated by their department chair, and each department may submit only one nomination per year.
The 20 finalists, as well as their department and titles, are listed below.

Undergraduate
1. Diego Esparza, Assistant Professor, Political Science
2. Brittany McElroy, Senior Lecturer, Mayborn
3. Rachel Moran, Associate Professor, History
4. Megan Morrissey, Associate Professor, Communication Studies
5. Caroline Najour, Senior Lecturer, World Languages, Literatures, & Cultures
6. Matthew Painter, Professor, Sociology

Graduate
1. Christophe Chaguinian, Associate Professor, World Languages, Literatures, & Cultures
2. Jeffrey Doty, Associate Professor, English
3. Matthew Eshbaugh-Soha, Professor, Political Science
4. Phoebe Ho, Assistant Professor, Sociology
5. Myungsup Kim, Associate Professor, Economics
6. Michael Wise, Associate Professor, History

Research
1. Adam Chamberlin, Associate Professor, Dance and Theatre
2. Jacqueline Foertsch, Professor, English
3. Ronald Kwon, Assistant Professor, Sociology
4. Joseph McGlynn, Associate Professor Communication Studies
5. Todd Moye, Professor, History
6. Terra Schwerin Rowe, Associate Professor, Philosophy & Religion
7. Christoph Weber, Associate Professor, World Languages, Literatures, & Cultures
8. Xi Yang, Assistant Professor, Economics

The field will be narrowed down to nine finalists from each of the three categories, which will then be presented to the CLASS Advisory Board who will review the finalists and select an honoree from each category.

Entering its sixth year, the CLASS Advisory Board Faculty Award reception is scheduled for Tuesday, November 7, 2023, from 5:30 p.m. in the UNT Union Ballroom 333. The event is free and open to the public.

The Advisory Board provides guidance and support to CLASS in its mission of transforming the lives of its students, advancing the boundaries of knowledge, and supporting the economic development of Texas.

Mayborn Alum Austin Hedgecoth Received National SPJ Excellence Award

The University of North Texas alum Austin Hedgecoth received the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) 2022 Mark of Excellence Award in the broadcast field after taking first place as SPJ’s best collegiate journalist in Region 8.

The recent graduate (May 2023) won the honor for Television In-Depth Reporting on Crypto's final frontier while a senior with North Texas Television (ntTV) housed in the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences (CLASS) Mayborn School of Journalism.

Hedgecoth held several posts with ntTV including broadcast equipment manager, multi-media journalist/producer, and rounded out as the director of news media content.

Hedgecoth has in-depth experience in writing, reporting, producing, filming, and editing for print, digital, and broadcast. He has covered primaries, midterms, state fairs, holidays, breaking
news, developing stories, and more.

The national SPJ honor recognizes collegiate work published or broadcast during 2022. This year, 61 students and staff from 37 universities across the United States and Canada are being recognized as national winners.

Hedgecoth will advance to the contest for the Mark of Excellence Awards (MOEy) Best in Show, SPJ’s top prize given to students who entered the 2022 MOE awards competition.

The MOEy and two Corbin Gwaltney Awards for Best All-Around Student Newspaper will be presented during the Sigma Delta Chi awards ceremony at 7 p.m. EDT on June 17. The virtual event can be viewed here.

About Frank W. and Sue Mayborn School of Journalism CLASS Mayborn School of Journalism at the University of North Texas can help start you on the road to success, no matter where your future leads. We offer state-of-the-art technology in our studios and a wealth of opportunities for career advancement.