News

Linda Costigan Lederman (Ph.D., 1979) has been awarded the Rutgers Graduate School-New Brunswick Alumni Award for Distinguished Accomplishments and Service in the Social and Behavioral Sciences.

Dr. Lederman, an internationally recognized health communication scholar, will be honored at Rutgers University on March 5, 2010.

Candidates who have been awarded this honor have notable accomplishments in research, education, technology, leadership and/or service to the community, the nation, or the world. There are six of these awards offered each year: Early Career; Biology; Humanities; Physical Sciences / Mathematics / Engineering; Social Sciences; and the Lifetime award. This is the seventh year in which these awards have been given.

Dr. Lederman was one of the two founding directors of the Center for Communication and Health Issues, a collaborative research and teaching group dedicated to improving the social and intellectual health of students. She has also had work published in highly acclaimed scholarly journals such as Health Communication (the leading journal for health research in the communication discipline) and Journal of American College Health (the leading journal for college prevention research). Along with being a gifted scholar, Dr. Lederman has served as a leader in the development of the School of Communication and Information’s Master’s Program in Communication and Information Studies. She served as chair of the Department of Communication from 1991-1996 and oversaw the growth of a department with more than 1,100 majors.

This award is given to alumni of the Graduate School who have become notable in their chosen careers. The selection committee comprises two faculty members and two alumni members.