Even though Richard Jones became faculty laureate because of his work in the communication studies department, he originally started out in a different major in college.

Jones, now a communication studies professor, started his own college career as a music major before switching.

He realized he wanted to switch majors while taking an interpersonal communication class at the University of North Carolina in Greensboro.

Now, Jones is the communication department’s basic course director. His job is to supervise all introduction to speech classes. Jones also teaches interpersonal communication and communication theory, among other courses.

Jones said he was excited to receive the award.

“It is one of the biggest awards faculty can receive. It is just really nice to be recognized,” Jones said. “The other people who have won the awards over the years have been great teachers who have definitely had a big impact so it is nice to be counted among them.” To become faculty laureate, a professor must go through a selection process spearheaded by a committee.

The committee is made up of members of the Council on Academic Affairs, plus three student members who are appointed as well. A professor has to be a tenured faculty member who has a good record teaching general education courses to meet the criteria for getting the faculty laureate position. Seven professors were nominated in total this year. Debra Reid, a history professor who was on the committee that chose Jones, said he was chosen because of the extra work he does.

Reid said Jones’ responsibilities mainly include speaking at Convocation, though some faculty laureates use their position to advance general education classes for the campus.

To be nominated, a professor needs to collect all of their evaluation reports from the past three years, get letters of recommendation from at least one student and one peer and write their own letter.

Austin Mejdrich, a senior political science major, wrote the student letter of recommendation for Jones.

Mejdrich had Jones in his intro to speech communication class but also knew him from theater programs.

“I did a community theater production my first year here, and he directed the show. So I have gotten to know him on a professional, student-to-professor basis as well as on a personal level,” Mejdrich said.

Mejdrich said Jones is one of his favorite professors at Eastern. He said Jones has a passion in what he is teaching and tries to keep things fresh for students to help them succeed.

Jones asked Mejdrich to write the letter of recommendation because of the relationship they had built through class.

“He had reached out to me and asked me to write him a letter and I don’t think I could have been faster to agree,” Mejdrich said.

Mejdrich said Jones embodies what Eastern looks for in a professor and how teaching in the classroom should be.

The biggest thing he took away from Jones’s class was how to think critically, Mejdrich said, which is important regardless of career choice.

At Convocation, where Jones addressed incoming freshmen students, he talked about how students tend to struggle during their first few semesters of college.

He ended his speech with the message that students are not alone when they feel like their world is falling down around them.

“Getting a college education is not something to take for granted,” Jones said.

Sam Nusbaum can be reached at 581-2812 or scnusbaum@eiu.edu