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Professor named to direct graduate students

Julia Wood, Ph.D., a professor of communication studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, has been named the University’s first Caroline H. and Thomas S. Royster Distinguished Professor for Graduate Education.

Julia Wood, Mrs. Caroline H. Royster, Chancellor Thorp, and Graduate School Dean Steve Matson

In the role, Wood will direct the Royster Society of Fellows, outstanding doctoral students with five-year and dissertation fellowships. These Royster Fellowships provide financial support and professional development and learning opportunities.

Designed to attract talented students, the fellowships were created in 1995 by the late Dr. Thomas Royster and Caroline H. Royster of Chapel Hill and Vero Beach, Fla. The Roysters also contributed a lead gift toward establishing the new professorship, which was completed with matching funds from the state’s faculty endowment trust.

“The legacy that the late Thomas S. Royster and his wife, Caroline H. Royster, established at UNC lives on through the vibrant, interdisciplinary graduate fellowship program they helped establish – the Royster Society of Fellows – as well as the Caroline H. and Thomas S. Royster Distinguished Professorship to support the society’s director,” said Chancellor Holden Thorp. “We appreciate this critical support that enables Carolina to attain and retain leadership in the quality of graduate education we provide.”

On Carolina’s faculty for 34 years, Wood has published more than 25 books and received 14 awards for scholarship, including being named the Distinguished Scholar of the National Communication Association. Her teaching has earned 13 awards including a Donald Ecroyd Award for Outstanding Teaching in Higher Education and the North Carolina Teacher of the Year Award.

“Julia Wood was selected for this new post from among an exceptional group of faculty nominated for their scholarly and teaching excellence and their dedication to graduate students,” said Steve Matson, Ph.D., dean of the Graduate School. “Even within this extraordinary group of faculty, Professor Wood stood out as the perfect choice.” In honor of their dedication to Carolina, the Roysters were awarded the University’s Light on the Hill Award in September 2006. The award recognizes individuals who have advanced the University in teaching, research and service, benefiting its community of students, faculty and staff.

Photo: For a photo of Wood, visit http://uncnews.unc.edu/images/stories/news/students/2009/adsc_8623a.jpg
Credit: Will Owens

Graduate School contact: Sandra Hoeflich, (919) 962-6323, Sandra_hoeflich@unc.edu

Oct. 13, 2009