July 25, 2018
Tim Shaffer receives Early Career Recognition Award
Tim Shaffer, assistant professor of communication studies and assistant director of the Institute for Civic Discourse and Democracy, received the 2018 Early Career Recognition Award from the International Association for Research on Service-Learning and Community Engagement at the organization's 18th annual convention in New Orleans earlier this month.
The association is an international nonprofit organization devoted to promoting research and discussion about service learning and community engagement. Shaffer was recognized by the award presenter for being "an immensely talented and influential young public scholar who is a leading researcher in democratic engagement, most especially on the role of deliberative democracy and citizen engagement in higher education and community-based settings. He is a visionary who has already contributed greatly to the field of community engagement and service-learning, and I am convinced he will be a leading scholar for many years to come."
Shaffer's teaching focuses on dialogue and deliberation, democratic communication across difference, small group communication, and leadership communication. He also has been part of a national effort by the Cooperative Extension System called "Coming Together for Racial Understanding," part of the research team at the National Institute for Civil Discourse at the University of Arizona, and serves as associate editor of the Journal of Public Deliberation. His research centers on the advancement of democratic practices through deliberative politics and civic engagement in higher education and other institutional and community settings.
Shaffer has published numerous articles and book chapters and is co-editor of "Deliberative Pedagogy: Teaching and Learning for Democratic Engagement," Michigan State University Press, 2017; "A Crisis of Civility? Contemporary Research on Civility, Incivility, and Political Discourse," Routledge, 2018; and "Jumping into Civic Life: Stories of Public Work from Extension Professionals," Kettering Foundation Press, 2018. Two forthcoming books, "Discussing Democracy: A Primer on Dialogue and Deliberation in Higher Education," Stylus; and "When Democracy Had Roots: Civic Professionals, Group Discussion, and Adult Education in the Rural New Deal," West Virginia University Press, are set to be published in 2019.