AUSTIN, Texas — Dr. Erica Ciszek, assistant professor at the UT-Austin Stan Richards School of Advertising & Public Relations has been selected as the 2021 recipient of the Lillian Lodge Kopenhaver Outstanding Early-Career Woman Scholar award.

Selected through a rigorous judging process by the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication’s Commission on the Status of Women, the award recognized excellence in research by a professor at the beginning of her career.

Ciszek has earned the respect of fellow scholars, with one letter of nomination noting that Ciszek “is a leader in the theorizing of activism in public relations and a pioneer scholar exploring LGBTQ research in public relations” whose “groundbreaking” and “cutting-edge” research that is “shaping the  industry’s understanding and practice of LGBTQ public relations.”

Ciszek has published widely in respected academic journals including Communication, Cultura, and Critique; New Media & Society; Journal of Public Relations Research; Journal of Communication Inquiry; and Journal of Homosexuality. Among other recognitions, Ciszek has received the Public Relations Division Top Paper at the 2020 AEJMC conference and the AEJMC Commission on the Status of Women’s Mary Ann Yodelis Smith (MAYS) Award.

Ciszek will be honored with a $250 check and a plaque signifying the honor at the AEJMC’s annual virtual convention in August.

The Lillian Lodge Kopenhaver Center for the Advancement of Women in Communication at Florida International University was founded to empower women in communication professions and academics. The center works with leadership fellows, offers leadership boot camps, and recognizes the accomplishments of women in communication. By valuing mentorship, diversity, and inclusion, the center is committed to embracing differences and diversifying leadership in communication.

AEJMC, is a nonprofit organization for journalism and mass communication scholars, educators, students, and professionals.

For more information contact Lillian Anne Abreu, MSW, MSFM at 305-919-4065, or labreu@fiu,.edu