Vincent Russell, assistant professor of communication, was presented the Excellence in Community Engagement Award at the Faculty and Staff Excellence Awards and Recognitions at Western Carolina University on April 28, 2026.
“I am incredibly honored to receive the award. I’ve joined the ranks of past award recipients, many of whom I admire and have done great work including Dr. Scott Eldredge and Dr. Travis Rountree. I’m grateful to work at a university and in a department that values community engagement and supports my community work in the region. Our Communication Department has several incredible community-engaged scholars in it, and this award wouldn’t have been possible without the guidance and support from my faculty colleagues,” said Russell.
The WCU Excellence in Community Engagement Award is honored to a faculty member who demonstrates continuous efforts and achievements in public service and outreach, and who strives to make positive contributions to the lives of others.
Russell has achieved this award as a result of his many years of sustained public service, research, activism and commitment to engaging students in service learning. He was recognized for his work with the NC Truth, Justice, and Reconciliation Commission where he acted as a representative and organized the Long March for Unity and Justice protest. He also chairs the Diane Withrow Coyle Peace and Justice Committee, a civic service organization at WCU where he and some of his students helped organize the “People vs. War” mock trial in 2025.
The Faculty and Staff Excellence Awards and Recognitions is an annual tradition that recognizes outstanding faculty and staff through various awards, many including cash rewards, celebrating excellence in teaching, scholarship, community engagement, service to the university, and more. The ceremony is meant to congratulate and encourage the hard work of faculty and staff across all departments at WCU. Nominations are made earlier in the semester, revealed at a ceremony in the UC Ballroom and then followed by a celebratory reception.
“These go beyond recognizing a job well done; these awards, nominated and voted on by committees of faculty, staff, and students, look at people and programs that have really gone above and beyond expectations,” said Scott Eldredge, department head and professor of communication.
The communication department’s professors received many other nominations and wins at this year’s event as well. This includes Eldredge who was a finalist for the Paul A. Reid Distinguished Service Award, Mindy Weathers who was a finalist for the Innovative Scholarship Award, Katerina Spasovska who was a finalist for the Excellence in Community Engagement Award, and Betty Farmer who won the Student Nominated Faculty of the Year Award. The Department of Communication itself was the winner of the prestigious Program of Excellence Award.
This kind of recognition is possible because of the hard work of the communication department’s faculty and its commitment to serving the community.
“I believe the first purpose of higher education is to prepare our students to be responsible citizens in their communities. Careers will come and go, but no matter what, our students will be someone’s neighbor,” said Russell, “I only hope my work has helped students realize that responsibility and apply their communication skills to improve their communities. Because that is and should be our first commitment as educators, students, and the broader WCU community: to help in creating a better world for our neighbors, where all people are treated with dignity, free from oppression, and have equal opportunities to participate in the equitable distribution of resources.”