University Park, Pa. -- A faculty member in the College of Communications at Penn State has been named Journalism Teacher of the Year by the Scripps Howard Foundation through its National Journalism Awards program.
Robert D. "Bob" Richards, professor of journalism and law, was selected for the teaching award, which is given in cooperation with the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication.
Richards and the other award winners, in categories such as editorial writing, human interest writing, public service reporting, Web reporting, college cartooning and more, were honored Friday, April 20, during a black-tie dinner at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. The award includes a trophy and a $10,000 prize for Richards as well as a $5,000 gift for the College of Communications.
"The Scripps Howard Foundation's National Journalism Awards are intended, in a meaningful way, to acknowledge the outstanding work of America's top journalists," said Judith G. Clabes, foundation president and chief executive officer. "The awards honor the individual accomplishments of journalists of all disciplines and bring deserved attention to the important role each of them plays in a free and democratic society."
The Scripps Howard Foundation is the philanthropic arm of The E. W. Scripps Co. Of the 16 awards, two are presented to journalism educators. In addition to the teaching award, Scripps Howard Foundation also honors the university journalism administrator of the year.
Richards joined the Penn State faculty in 1988 as an assistant professor after earning a law degree and working in broadcast journalism. During his nearly 20-year teaching career, he has taught more than 2,000 students in a range of technique and conceptual courses, all of which are in the core areas of print and broadcast, a primary criterion for the award.
Through the years, Richards has assumed numerous responsibilities in the college. He currently serves as co-director of the Pennsylvania Center for the First Amendment and as director of the Penn State Washington Program. He founded both enterprises. He also has served as associate dean for undergraduate education, as interim head of the Department of Journalism and as director of the college's internship program.
Richards is the author or coauthor of three books on media law topics, a dozen book chapters on free-speech issues and more than 40 articles on free-speech and free-press topics, with many of them appearing in some of the country's most prestigious law journals.
During his years at Penn State, Richards has taught more than a dozen different courses. He has taught technique courses such as "News Writing and Reporting," "Broadcast Journalism," "Reporting Methods" and "Advanced Radio Production." He also has taught bedrock conceptual courses such as "Mass Communications Law" and "News Media Ethics," which are his specialties.
Richards earned undergraduate and master's degrees from Penn State and a law degree from American University. He was the recipient of the 2006 Deans' Award for Excellence in Integrated Scholarship, the 1998 Deans' Award for Excellence in Research, the 1997 Deans' Award for Excellence in Service and the 1994 Excellence in Teaching Award from the College of Communications Alumni Society.
Before coming to Penn State, Richards worked as a news writer, anchor, reporter and talk show host for stations in the Northeast and for NBC News in New York City.