Awardees of the Spring 2025 College of Humanities Faculty Awards
Distinguished Faculty Service Award – Andy King
This award honors a COH faculty member who has demonstrated a sustained service commitment to the University and/or community service.
The Distinguished Faculty Service Award in the College of Humanities goes to Andy
King, associate professor in the Department of Communication with a joint appointment
in Population Sciences at the Huntsman Cancer Institute. In his time on the faculty
in the College of Humanities, King has established an impressive service record on
departmental, collegiate, university, and community levels, ranging from service on
numerous planning committees to the Chair of the Utah Cancer Coalition, a statewide
organization that oversees efforts related to the Utah State Cancer Plan. King approaches
his work at each level – for example, as Associate Editor-in-Chief of Health Communication where he handled over 1,200 submissions himself during his time on the editorial
team, as a member of the University of Utah’s Institutional Review Board, or a reviewer
for the NSF and NIH – with thoughtfulness, enthusiasm, and precision.
Of particular note was King’s role in chairing the planning committee for the National Communication Association Doctoral Honors Seminar, which the Department of Communication hosted in June 2024. “In my experience, there are few service roles that result in a department receiving national recognition,” says Avery Holton, professor and chair of the Department of Communication. “Dr. King’s work…is the exception, as we received a presidential citation from the academic organization in November 2024 for that event.”
Robin Jensen, professor of Communication, offers commendations for King’s tremendous efforts. “Dr. King’s baseline of service far exceeds expectations for tenured faculty members in our department and across the university, as well as the expectations of other Research-focused institutions across the country. His service work at the levels of department, college, university, profession, and community is truly exceptional and is deserving of recognition by the College of Humanities.”
Distinguished Scholar in the Humanities Award – Jakob D. Jensen
The Distinguished Scholar in the Humanities award recognizes significant scholarly accomplishments and research contributions by College of Humanities tenured faculty.
The College is pleased to recognize Jakob D. Jensen, professor of communication and
Associate Vice President for Research for the University, as the Distinguished Scholar
in the Humanities. As Holton notes, “Dr. Jensen is a truly exceptional scholar and
our department and college are fortunate to have him as a faculty member.”
Jensen’s research on health communication through a digital humanities and social scientific lens has garnered a long list of academic accolades, including becoming the first Communication scholars ever to receive the prestigious New Innovator Award from the National Institutes of Health, over a dozen top-paper awards from national and international conferences, and Presidential Scholar recognition from the University of Utah.
Jensen’s track record for service and administration is no less impressive. Having served on every major departmental committee and as the College’s Associate Dean for Research, he now sits on the editorial board of eight major journals while serving as the University’s AVP for Research. In that capacity Jensen influences the research innovation, productivity, and development opportunities for scholars throughout the entire university system. His research has been discussed in many publications with broad community impact, including The New York Times, The Chicago Tribune, U.S. News & World Report, and Science.
“It is perhaps clear by this point that there is not enough space on a single page to do justice to the truly remarkable scholar that Dr. Jensen is, nor enough words of praise available,” says Kevin Coe, professor of Communication. “But “distinguished” is the right word to honor such a scholar—and Distinguished Scholar in the Humanities is the right award.”
Rising Star in the Humanities Award – Aniello de Santo
The Rising Star in the Humanities award recognizes significant scholarly accomplishments and research contributions by College of Humanities junior faculty.
The Rising Star in the Humanities this year is Aniello de Santo, assistant professor
of Linguistics. De Santo, who joined the University of Utah in 2020, was unanimously
nominated by all the faculty in the Department of Linguistics. He has rapidly made
an impact on the field of linguistics as well as in the training and mentorship of
young scholars in the Humanities. With a research program based in computational linguistics,
de Santo’s research “contributes to our understanding of human language – and human
cognition more broadly – using mathematical, computation, and experimental approaches,”
explain his departmental colleagues.
Likewise, his colleagues speak highly of de Santo’s mentorship of students, emphasizing that “Prof. De Santo is a prolific and dedicated mentor to our earliest-career researcher colleagues, including students at all experience levels – from high school students to graduate students. In his short time at the University of Utah — much of which has been influenced by pandemic-related restrictions on interaction — he has grown his lab to include an impressive number of student collaborators who are themselves engaged members of their scholarly communities.”
Citing de Santo’s collaboration-minded research program, his significant publication profile for an early-career researcher, his high level of activity in scholarly communities, and his promising start to securing grant funding, his fellow faculty in Linguistics say, “There can be no doubt that Prof. Aniello de Santo is a model of an early career professor making significant scholarly accomplishments.”
Robert A. Goldberg Endowed Faculty Prize in the Humanities - James Tabery
Robert A. Goldberg Endowed Faculty Prize in Humanities recognizes faculty whose record in teaching and research reflects high merit and provides a stipend to support the faculty member’s ongoing projects.
The Robert A. Goldberg Endowed Faculty Prize in Humanities goes to James Tabery, professor
of philosophy. Tabery’s research in the philosophy of biology – specifically genetics
– and biomedical ethics is notable not only for the incisive clarity of his two books
and nearly 50 articles (including encyclopedia and dictionary entries) but also for
its reach. Truly belying the trope of philosophy as a solipsistic adventure, Tabery’s
work routinely contributes to public knowledge, appearing in no fewer than ten editorials,
nine TV and video appearances, 22 radio broadcasts and podcasts, 8 magazine articles,
and 14 newspaper articles. Cynthia Stark, professor and chair of the Department of
Philosophy, observes, “The study of genetics holds great promise for the improvement
of society and individual lives, yet it can also lead to misinformation or misunderstandings
that may cause great harm. Tabery’s interventions help inform the public about the
past uses of genetic science, its current applications and the ethical and social
issues to which genetic science has given birth. This helps individual citizens make
informed personal and political decisions and helps policy makers craft sensible policies.”
An interdisciplinary teacher, Tabery also has an impressive breadth of classroom work. In addition to over a dozen classes taught in his home department, he also teaches six courses in the School of Medicine, one in the Genetic Counseling Program, six courses in the School of Medicine Clinical Research Center, and several more for various other mentorship or student research programs around campus. Tabery also served as chair of the design and proposal committee for the recently approved Medical Humanities degree which will impact future students for many years to come.
Says Stark, “James Tabery is a very accomplished philosopher who is deserving of the Goldberg Prize, as he is an outstanding researcher who generously contributes to the public’s understanding of pressing scientific issues.”