February 13, 2024, Santa Rosa - Ashley Garcia, Tenure Track Instructor at Santa Rosa Junior College, recently received the 2023 Gerald R. Miller Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation Award from the National Communication Association (NCA).
Dr. Garcia received the award for the dissertation completed at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, “(Re)Scripting the Black-Activist-Athlete: Remembering the Racialized Politics of Sport in the NFL’s Protests During the National Anthem.” Her advisor was Ronald Lee, University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
“Unpacking the intersection of sport, politics, race, and masculinity to study the NFL’s protests during the National Anthem was the most challenging yet rewarding experience of my life. I was ecstatic when I received the news that I had won this prestigious award. Having one of the top three dissertations in the discipline is an incredible honor.”
The Dissertation Awards program was created in 1970 to recognize new scholars who have recently completed their dissertations. The first awards were given in 1971. The Miller Award is presented to the most outstanding dissertations completed in the field. Up to three awards may be given in any year.
“NCA’s annual awards honor communication scholars’ teaching, scholarship, and service,” NCA Interim Executive Director Justin Danowski, said. “NCA is proud to recognize Dr. Ashley Garcia’s significant contributions to the Communication discipline with this award.”
Dr. Garcia’s award was presented Nov. 19 at the NCA 109th Annual Convention in National Harbor, MD. For more information about NCA’s awards program, visit http://www.natcom.org/awards/.
To schedule an interview with Dr. Garcia, contact: Sarah Laggos at slaggos@santarosa.edu
About Santa Rosa Junior College (SRJC)
SRJC is known for academic excellence, superb faculty and staff, comprehensive student services and beautiful facilities. SRJC is dedicated to removing barriers to students’ success and making higher education accessible to all.
About the National Communication Association
The National Communication Association (NCA) advances Communication as the discipline that studies all forms, modes, media, and consequences of communication through humanistic, social scientific, and aesthetic inquiry. NCA serves the scholars, teachers, and practitioners who are its members by enabling and supporting their professional interests in research and teaching. Dedicated to fostering and promoting free and ethical communication, NCA promotes the widespread appreciation of the importance of communication in public and private life, the application of competent communication to improve the quality of human life and relationships, and the use of knowledge about communication to solve human problems. NCA supports inclusiveness and diversity among our faculties, within our membership, in the workplace, and in the classroom; NCA supports and promotes policies that fairly encourage this diversity and inclusion.
For more information, visit natcom.org
