Interim director of undergraduate studies named

John Courtright, chairperson of the Department of Communication since 1986, has been appointed interim faculty director of the Office of Undergraduate Studies (UGS), Vice Provost for Academic and International Programs, Bobby Gempesaw announced.

Courtright will replace William Frawley, who has accepted a position as dean of arts and sciences at George Washington University.

The Office of Undergraduate Studies was established in 2001 in the Office of the Vice Provost for Academic and International Programs to coordinate and enhance University-wide undergraduate programs and to provide a unified vision and direction for current and future initiatives, Gempesaw said.

It is the administrative home of the Honors Program, Undergraduate Research Program, the Center for Teaching Effectiveness, the McNair Scholars Program and General Education Initiatives. As of Sept. 1, it also will include the University Advisement Center, formerly the Arts and Sciences Advisement Center.

Courtright joined the UD faculty in 1986, coming from Cleveland State University. His interests focus on interpersonal communication, multimedia presentation technology, research methodology, statistics and experimental design and general speech and communication.

He is the author of Communicating Online: A Guide to the Internet; The Mayfield Quick Guide to the Internet: For Communication Students (both in their second edition) and Communications Research Methods. Courtright served as associate editor of the Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media, Communication Research Reports, Journal of Communication and Communication Education and as editor of Communication Quarterly. He has served on several committees at UD and as a member of the Arts and Science Faculty Senate.

He received his bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees from the University of Iowa.