“Congratulations to all recipients and thank you for your years of service. Rutgers University is a better place due to your hard work and dedication,” wrote the Rutgers University Department of Institutional Planning and Operations, as part of a YouTube video the department created to honor faculty members celebrating career milestones in 2022.

Four of the SC&I faculty members honored at the 2022 Faculty Service Recognition Reception hosted by Rutgers University President Jonathan Holloway and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Chief Academic Office at Rutgers Prabhas Moghe were Marc Aronson, John Pavlik, Brent Ruben, and Lea Stewart.

“Working at Rutgers these past two decades has been the honor of a lifetime,” Pavlik said.

At the event, Ruben spoke on behalf of all the faculty celebrating career milestones, having been honored by Moghe, who asked him if he would represent the faculty being recognized.

"Advancements have been remarkable at Rutgers. The changes have not always been linear, but the overall pattern of progress has been extremely impressive to be sure,” Ruben said, addressing the attendees. 

The four SC&I faculty members were invited by Rutgers President Holloway to attend the celebration at his home in Piscataway on Wednesday, May 4, 2022.

“Working at Rutgers these past two decades has been the honor of a lifetime,” Pavlik said.

Associate Professor of Professional Practice Marc Aronson, who is celebrating 12 years at the university, has worked in the field of literature for younger readers for more than thirty years as an author, editor, speaker, publisher, and critic. He is the only person to have been a winner or finalist for both of the American Library Association's prizes for excellence in youth nonfiction as both an author and as an editor. Marc Aronson’s love of nonfiction and his conviction that young people can read carefully, examine evidence, and engage with new and challenging ideas is reflected in his teaching at Rutgers University, where he trains future librarians in how to select and share materials with children and teenagers, and his active work as an educational consultant, working with librarians, teachers, and administrators. His class in International books for children and teenagers is one of the very few graduate courses in this country that introduces future librarians to the creations of authors and artists from other lands.

Professor of Journalism and Media Studies John Pavlik, who has worked at Rutgers for the past 20 years, has researched and written widely on the impact of new technology on journalism, media, and society. He is a co-developer of the Situated Documentary, a form of location-based storytelling using Augmented Reality and 360-degree video. His books include “Disruption and Digital Journalism,” published in 2021 by Routledge, “Journalism in the Age of Virtual Reality,” published in 2019 by Columbia University Press. His work includes a completed two-year project funded by UNESCO on curriculum reform in journalism and mass communication in Iraqi higher education.

Distinguished Professor of Communication Brent Ruben, who was a founder and former chair of the Department of Communication, a founding member and first PhD program director of SC&I, now serves is advisor for strategy and planning in the Office of the Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs, and as senior university fellow at the Rutgers Center for Organizational Leadership. His scholarly work over his 50 years at Rutgers has focused on communication systems theory, and on the application of communication systems concepts to enhance personal and professional competence and organizational strategy in varying settings. He is the author of more than 50 books and 200 journal articles and book chapters, and he was the founding editor of Communication Yearbook. His latest book, Implementing Sustainable Change in Higher Education: Principles and Practices of Collaborative Leadership will be published in this Fall.

"Advancements have been remarkable at Rutgers. The changes have not always been linear, but the overall pattern of progress has been extremely impressive to be sure,” Ruben said, during a speech he delivered during the event. 

Professor and former Chair of the Communication Department, Lea Stewart, is director of the Center for Communication and Health Issues, one of the first research groups in the nation to study the role of communication in students’ alcohol use and misuse. She served for a decade as Livingston Campus and UAA (Undergraduate Academic Affairs) Dean and currently is a Rutgers Center of Alcohol and Substance Use Studies Affiliate. Her research has focused on prevention campaigns using both mediated and interpersonal strategies to reduce dangerous drinking among undergraduate students. She has participated in the design, implementation, and evaluation of health communication campaigns especially those targeted to students making the transition from high school to college.

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

Photo: Courtesy of Jonathan Potter