Maria Lapinski has been named a Fellow of the International Communication Association (ICA). She is appointed as a professor in the Department of Communication, with a secondary appointment with MSU AgBioResearch. Lapinski accepted this prestigious honor during the 74th Annual ICA Conference held June 20-24, 2024 in Australia. Her two teenage sons accompanied her to celebrate her achievement.
Lapinski serves as the director of the MSU ComArtSci Health and Risk Communication Center (HRCC).
“HRCC conducts research, teaching and outreach in the space of health risk, the environment and science,” Lapinski said. “There's over 50 faculty affiliated with the center who do very exciting research.”
Lapinski’s research examines the ways in which communication processes impact health and environmental behaviors with a focus on culture. She has conducted collaborative research in several countries around the world. Lapinski led a National Science Foundation team studying social norms and financial incentives related to conservation behaviors among Tibetan populations. Her work has been published in refereed journals including The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Human Communication Research, Health Communication, Social Science and Medicine and others.
“As part of our research, we present our work at conferences (such as ICA) as a way to bring the newest ideas together in one place and see what other people are doing before we publish in a journal,” Lapinski said.
In addition to the NSF, Lapinski’s research has been funded by agencies such as the World Health Organization, National Institutes of Health and the U.S. Department of Agriculture and by foundations such as the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and The Carter Center.
Being named an International Communication Association Fellow is one of the highest honors in her field. Lapinski equates it to a lifetime achievement award.
“This award recognizes a portfolio of scholarly work,” she said. “It’s focused on the research elements, but it also acknowledges teaching and service to the discipline and university.”
Despite the singular honor of being named an ICA Fellow, Lapinski is quick to appreciate that her work is largely a collaboration with her colleagues at the MSU Health and Risk Communication Center.
“I have almost no projects that I've ever done alone,” said Lapinski. “My career to this point has been really facilitated by the mentorship of my colleagues, my students, my family and friends. I didn't get this award on my own. I got it with the help of so many people.”