Franklin Yartey, Assistant Professor of Communication at the University of Dubuque, was selected by the Iowa Communication Association to receive the Outstanding New Teacher Award for 2014. This award is presented to an exceptional speech communication teacher in the state of Iowa who has been teaching professionally for fewer than seven years. The decision is based on teaching philosophy, teaching strategies, contributions to his/her institution and to the communication discipline, and recommendations by other faculty, administration, and students.
Yartey, originally from Ghana in West Africa, began teaching at the University of Dubuque in the fall of 2012. Yartey teaches several courses which include Intercultural Communication, Language and Social Identity, Public Speaking, and Communication Careers. He has proposed a new course to advance the digital communication studies track within the major. In addition, he advises undergraduate students in the department, is an advisor for Lambda Pi Eta, and serves as advisor for the Black Student Union and as a mentor for the University of Dubuque Wendt Center’s Character Scholars’ Program. Yartey has authored numerous communication articles and book chapters and presented several conference presentations and professional lectures. Yartey earned his Bachelor’s degree in Communication at Northwestern College in Iowa, his Master’s in Communication from Indiana State University, and his Doctorate in Communication from Bowling Green State University in Ohio.
Yartey will receive his award during the Awards Banquet of the Iowa Communication Association’s Annual Conference on Friday, September 19, 2014, at the Conference Center on the Ankeny campus of Des Moines Area Community College.