Martin Medhurst Wins Ohio University's Boase Prize For Scholarship
Ohio University's School of Communication has named Dr. Martin Medhurst, Distinguished Professor of Rhetoric and Communication at Baylor University, as the winner of the 2004 Paul Boase Prize for Scholarship. He will receive an honorarium and will deliver the annual Boase Lecture on Ohio University in the fall.
The Boase Prize is awarded annually to a person in any field in communication whose recent scholarship "demonstrates a commitment to the field in ways that reflect the spirit of Paul Boase. The criteria used for the award selection include the intellectual creativity and depth of the scholarship, its immediate impact on the community of scholars, and its potential for enduring value."
Medhurst was selected as the 2004 Boase Prize winner for his outstanding work in reinvigorating the study of public address. The selection committee cited three aspects of his recent work: (1) his record of published scholarship, especially his work on the rhetorical legacy of Dwight Eisenhower; (2) his editorial work, especially as the founding editor of the journal Rhetoric and Public Affairs, which now is published at Baylor; (3) his mentoring of young colleagues.
Last year, Medhurst came to Baylor from Texas A&M University where he was professor of communication and coordinator of the Program in Presidential Rhetoric. He is the author of 12 books including Dwight D. Eisenhower: Strategic Communicator, Communication and the Culture of Technology, Beyond the Rhetorical Presidency, and Cold War Rhetoric: Strategy, Metaphor, and Ideology. He has served as editor and/or co-editor of Beyond the Rhetorical Presidency and Landmark Essays on American Public Address. His work has been recognized with a Golden Anniversary Monograph Award from the National Communication Association and two Marie Hochmuth Nichols Awards from the Public Address Division of the National Communication Association, while the quarterly Rhetoric and Public Affairs won the Best New Journal Award in 1998 by the Council of Editors of Learned Journals.