UFCJC Alumna Wins Prestigious Lynda Lee Kaid Outstanding Dissertation Award

University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications (UFCJC) alumna Ekaterina Romanova, Ph.D. 2023, is the recipient of the 2024 Lynda Lee Kaid Outstanding Dissertation Award, a prestigious honor from the National Communication Association (NCA) Political Communications Division.

Romanova is now a visiting assistant professor in the University of Kansas Department of Communication Studies.

The dissertation used mixed methods to explore how online media content motivates political engagement through the activation of ethnic identity among members of the Russian diaspora in the U.S. The research attempted to answer the questions: How does online media influence audiences who were raised in an authoritarian context but are now living in a democratic society?

The award selection committee, in a letter to Romanova, said they “were impressed with the ambition of your dissertation, the multimethodological approach, the compelling social significance of your findings, the way you were able to leverage the theoretical significance of the context of your study, and your ability to overcome considerable obstacles along the way. It is an outstanding project and a worthy recipient of the award.”

The Lynda Lee Kaid Award is named for the former UFCJC Telecommunication and UF Research Foundation professor and honors a dissertation successfully defended in the two years prior to the award. Former UFCJC Journalism Assistant Professor Celeste Wagner received the Lynda Lee Kaid Award in 2023.

The award will be presented on Nov. 23 at the 110th NCA Annual Convention in Houston.

Posted: October 7, 2024
Category: College News
Tagged as: Ekaterina Romanova, Lynda Lee Kaid, Lynda Lee Kaid Outstanding Dissertation Award, NCA