Deborah Eicher-Catt, associate professor of communication arts and sciences at Penn State York, is the recipient of the Pennsylvania Communication Association (PCA) 2012 Donald H. Ecroyd Research and Scholarship Award. The award was presented on Saturday, Oct. 13, at the PCA 73th Annual Convention held at Ursinus College, in Collegeville, Pa.
The Donald H. Ecroyd Research and Scholarship Award honors a commitment to and a sustained record of research or publication in the field of communication.
Eicher-Catt returned to Penn State York in 2009 and had previously served the campus from 2001-06. She is the co-editor of the book, “Communicology: The New Science of Embodied Discourse” and has published numerous articles and book chapters on the semiotics and phenomenology of discursive practices, winning the top article award in 2011 for her article, “Recovering the Voice of Embodied Dialogue: Edward Sapir’s Contribution to Communicology.” Her current book project is titled, “Writing Life Alongside and Against the Father: A Daughter’s Archeology of an Ambivalent Love.”
Her principle areas of study and research are the philosophy and theory of communication (communicology), interpersonal, family and organizational communication.
In addition to teaching communication classes at Penn State York and engaging students in research projects, Eicher-Catt is the chairperson of the Philosophy of Communication Interest Group of the National Communication Association.
She holds a doctorate in the philosophy of communication from Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Il., a master of arts in information and communication studies from California State University, Chico, Calif., and a bachelor of arts in social psychology from California State University, Chico, Calif.