The Rutgers School of Graduate Studies is awarding the Faculty Excellence in Teaching and Mentoring Award to Rutgers School of Communication and Information (SC&I) Professor of Communication Jennifer Theiss. Theiss studies interpersonal communication in romantic relationships, marriages, and families, and has been at SC&I since 2006.

Theiss is the recipient of numerous research, teaching, and service awards, including the 2023 National Communication Association’s Bernard J. Brommel Award and the Rutgers University Chancellor’s Scholar Awards (2015–2018). She has also been named a Fellow of the International Association for Relationship Research.

“I am extremely honored to be recognized with the award for Faculty Excellence in Teaching Mentoring from the School of Graduate Studies,” said Theiss. “It is a particularly meaningful award to me because I find working with students and mentoring them in their professional development to be one of the most rewarding aspects of my career. It brings me so much joy to see our students succeed and to know that I played a small part in helping them achieve their goals.”

Theiss was the director of SC&I’s Ph.D. program in Communication, Information, and Media for six years from 2017-2023, during which she mentored multiple cohorts of doctoral students through their years in the program, particularly through the challenging years of the COVID pandemic. She has served as the primary advisor for nine doctoral students, many of whom have received awards and recognition for their research and have gone on to successful academic careers of their own. She has also served on committees for dissertations and qualifying exams for more than 40 students. Additionally, Theiss has organized several new scholar workshops for graduate students and new professionals at several academic conferences and she has served as a faculty mentor for Ph.D. students in the family communication division of the National Communication Association.

Professor and Chair of Communication Marya Doerfel noted, “I cannot think of anyone more deserving of the SGS Faculty Excellence in Teaching and Mentoring Award than Dr. Theiss. Fittingly, she researches how people navigate challenges and tensions within their personal relationships and families, which often exist in the context of larger social systems. So, it’s no surprise that her deep understanding of these issues is at the core of Jen’s approach to graduate teaching and mentoring. In the nearly 20 years that I have known her, Dr. Theiss has helped students navigate the uncertain and often ambiguous process of pursuing a career in higher ed. Her department colleagues and I are thrilled to see Dr. Theiss’s selfless dedication to her students is not just something we see every day—it is something the School of Graduate Studies sees, too!”

Concurring, Professor of Journalism and Media Studies and Chair of the Ph.D. Program Melissa Aronczyk said, “Dr. Theiss has been an exceptional mentor to six first-year Ph.D. cohorts. Our new doctoral students benefited from Dr. Theiss’s ability to provide the foundations of professional research and academic life. In addition to teaching the program’s proseminar, Dr. Theiss created career mentoring opportunities, ran workshops on dissertation writing, and managed research and travel awards for our students. She expertly shepherded the program throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, pivoting to adopting thoughtful and creative online spaces for students to maintain community and research goals. She was a vital advocate for Ph.D. student opportunities through her liaisons with deans and administrators in the School of Graduate Studies. Finally, she has been an invaluable mentor to the incoming director of the Ph.D. program.”

Theiss will receive her award in a School of Graduate Studies ceremony on Thursday, May 9.