For her groundbreaking contributions to rhetoric and public address, Professor of Communication, Caitlin Bruce, has been awarded the prestigious James A. Winans–Herbert A. Wichelns Memorial Award for Distinguished Scholarship. The National Communication Association (NCA) presented the honor during its 111th Annual Convention in Denver.
Dr. Bruce was recognized for her 2024 book Voices in Aerosol: Youth Culture, Institutional Attunement, and Graffiti in Urban Mexico, published by the University of Texas Press. The book examines how young people in Mexico use graffiti as a form of public expression and resistance, weaving together rhetorical theory, urban studies, and visual culture. Reviewers praised the work for expanding traditional understandings of public address by illuminating nonverbal, aesthetic forms of communication.
NCA Executive Director Justin Danowski said the association is “proud to recognize Dr. Caitlin Bruce’s significant contributions to the Communication discipline with this prestigious award.”
NCA advances Communication scholarship, teaching, and practice. Its Winans–Wichelns Award honors exemplary scholarship in rhetoric and public address published by NCA members in the previous year.