Allison Eden, Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication, is the 2018 ComArtSci Faculty Impact Award recipient. The award is made by student nominations of faculty, supporting letters and a subset of finalists who are then assessed by the ComArtSci Alumni Board. The basis for the award is excellence in teaching and mentoring.
“She is constantly challenging students, faculty and even administration to be a better version of themselves," wrote student Kevin Kryston in his nomination of Professor Eden. “I am proud to have her as my advisor and she deserves this award.”
Faculty were also effusive.
“When we hired Allison away from the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, I posed to her the possibility of her taking over and creating a new gateway course about the science of communication for MSU students. She has done this with relish,” said Chairperson Jim Dearing. “Leading COM 100 means coordinating the work of eight or more graduate student TAs and working in the classroom with hundreds of undergraduates. Allison has a sparkling personality that makes undergraduates sit up and pay attention.”
Eden’s research focuses on understanding media enjoyment from a psychological perspective. She studies the role enjoyment plays in attention to and selection of media content, and more broadly the effects of entertainment on behavior and well-being. Dr. Eden’s research has been published in the Journal of Communication, Journal of Media Psychology, Mass Communication and Society, among other journals. She is an affiliate scholar with the Media Neuroscience Lab at UC Santa Barbara.