Rutgers University has named Professor of Communication Itzhak Yanovitzky a recipient of a Faculty Scholar-Teacher Award for the academic year 2021-2022. This award honors tenured faculty members who have made outstanding synergistic contributions in research and teaching. It recognizes those who make visible the vital link between teaching and scholarship, by contributing to the scholarship of teaching and by bringing together scholarly and classroom activities. 

“I am both honored and proud to be a recipient of this particular award,” said Yanovitzky. “I have always been very passionate about conducting research that improves people’s lives and enriching the learning experience of my students. Being able to connect the two throughout much of my Rutgers career has been a great source of inspiration and a very gratifying experience for all involved,” he added. “I am very grateful to my colleagues and students for nominating me for this very special award.”  

Yanovitzky’s program of health and wellness-related research focuses on the multiple and complex ways in which communication mechanisms and processes facilitate connections between knowledge and action at all levels (individual, community, and societal), including in practice and policy settings.

Yanovitzky’s program of health and wellness-related research focuses on the multiple and complex ways in which communication mechanisms and processes facilitate connections between knowledge and action at all levels (individual, community, and societal), including in practice and policy settings. His scholarship naturally lend itself to engaged research and the formation of authentic and sustainable partnerships with a broad range of health stakeholders who are equally committed to addressing persistent health disparities and improving individual and population health outcomes. The primary vehicle he is using to this end is establishing research partnerships with community-based organizations, practitioners, and colleagues from diverse disciplines who collaborate as equal research partners on the design, implementation and evaluation of communication and community-based interventions.

Yanovitzky’s innovative classroom pedagogy leverages his community-engaged scholarship and strong partnerships with various stakeholders to engage his students in problem-based learning (PBL). This enables his students to meaningfully connect abstract communication ideas, theories, and principles that they learn in class to real-world, real-time problems that have a direct impact on students and their community. Examples include students collaborating with the Partnership for a Drug-Free NJ, NAMI NJ, and the Rutgers Cancer Institute. As a result, students are able to engage deeply in problem-solving and critical reflection that greatly enrich their learning and classroom experience and motivate them to become change agents in society.

Yanovitzky’s innovative classroom pedagogy leverages his community-engaged scholarship and strong partnerships with various stakeholders to engage his students in problem-based learning (PBL).

Throughout his time at Rutgers, Yanovitzky has been strongly committed, intentional, and thoughtful about connecting his program of applied research and community-engaged scholarship in a meaningful way to his undergraduate and graduate students’ learning experience inside and outside of the classroom, with an emphasis on sharpening critical thinking competencies and problem-solving skills.

He has previously received awards from the Department of Communication recognizing his commitment to service (2019), outstanding research (2018), and excellent in teaching (2006, 2010), and was a recipient of the Aresty Mentor of the Year Award in 2009. 

Learn more about the Department of Communication at the Rutgers School of Communication and Information on the website. 

 *Image by Jonathan Potter