ASU professor receives service award from communication association

Professor Paul Mongeau at Arizona State University's Hugh Downs School of Human Communication was presented the 2020 Distinguished Service Award by the Western States Communication Association (WSCA) at its annual conference in Denver on Feb. 24.

Mongeau, a career-long member of WSCA and current associate director of the Hugh Downs School, was characterized at the ceremony as “someone who embodies the ‘work hard, play hard’ mantra of the organization,” and as a “kind, courteous, critical, strong and engaged academic.” 

Distinguished Service Award Committee Chair Wendy Hine, who presented the award to Mongeau, noted the importance of service at the ceremony.

“Service should be part of our lives as ‘academic citizens,’” Hine said. “It paves the way for scholarship and teaching, as organizing, planning, reviewing and responding are essential functions that must occur for us to have a forum in which to share our ideas.  It can have a profound effect on students, colleagues and the field as a whole.”

“I am proud to have been given this great honor,” Mongeau said. “WSCA has been an important part of my professional career since I finished graduate school. What initially struck me about the association was that there were many people whose scholarship I admired and respected were actively involved in important positions. They allowed me to participate, first in the interpersonal communication interest group, and eventually to the executive committee. WSCA has provided me with an opportunity to work with so many wonderful people and to gain many valuable experiences.”

Mongeau served as president of the Western States Communication Association from 2015 to 2016. 

Mongeau began his service at WSCA as a paper-reader, conference panel chair, conference panel respondent and the interpersonal communication interest group secretary, vice-chair and chair. He also served as head of the local host team for the WSCA conference in Mesa, Arizona, in 2009.

His commitment to WSCA continued, serving in the legislative assembly, as well as on the Distinguished Service Award, Time and Place and Executive committees. He is currently serving as chair of the Finance Committee for the third time. 

He also worked his way through the association’s presidential queue, serving as first vice president, president-elect, president and immediate past president. He was the primary program planner for the 2015 conference in Spokane, Washington, and presided over the 2016 conference in San Diego.

“Professor Mongeau brings his values of hard work, commitment, and loyalty to all that he does,” said Linda C. Lederman, professor and director of the Hugh Downs School. “He has served WSCA and the communication discipline with dedication and excellence throughout his career, and has been a first-rate associate director for all the years I have served as director.”

WSCA, founded in 1929, is a not-for-profit educational association of scholars, teachers and students of communication with over 1,000 members from around the globe. WSCA publishes two scholarly journals — Western Journal of Communication and Communication Reports, as well as a newsletter, WSCA News.