Dr. Shawn T. Wahl, Founding Dean of the Reynolds College of Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities (RCASH) at Missouri State University, has been inducted into the Central States Communication Association (CSCA) Hall of Fame.

Wahl was recognized for his distinguished accomplishments in leadership, scholarship and education at an awards ceremony April 5, held during the 2024 CSCA Annual Conference in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

“I am most proud of the accomplishments in the former College of Arts and Letters and now RCASH, including fundraising and construction projects,” Wahl said. “I believe I was ultimately selected for my work in higher education leadership, in addition to serving a four-year term as president with CSCA.”

According to the CSCA website, the Hall of Fame distinction is awarded “to those who have contributed to the discipline of communication through meritorious scholarship, teaching/mentoring, participation at conventions and service to the association.”

Nominees must also be current CSCA members and have joined the association in 1999 or before.

Honored for dedicated service to CSCA and communication field

Wahl has been involved with CSCA for over two decades, making the organization his primary regional communication association.

He won an election covering 13 states and served as CSCA’s 2nd Vice-President (2014-2015), 1st Vice-President (2015-2016), President (2016-2017) and Immediate Past President (2017-2018). Wahl has also been secretary, vice-chair, and chair of the CSCA Communication Education Division (2009-2011).

In thanking the Executive Committee for the Hall of Fame honor, Wahl acknowledged that the CSCA “has shaped some of the best years in my career.”

Wahl was nominated by a long-time friend and colleague, Dr. Chad McBride, professor of communication at Creighton University.

“The Hall of Fame award is incredibly special to me because of the person who nominated me for this award, Dr. Chad McBride,” Wahl said.

“Chad is someone who is a hero to me,” Wahl continued. “He’s been living with ALS for a number of years, and so this particular moment is something that will always remind me of Chad.”

Wahl has also devoted time and energy in service to the National Communication Association (NCA), where he was vice chair, chair, and immediate past chair of the organization’s Instructional Development Division (2012-2014).

During that tenure, Wahl also served as a member of the NCA’s Professional Awards Committee: Samuel L. Becker Distinguished Service Award/Robert J. Kibler Memorial Award (2014) and as a faculty participant in NCA’s Learning Outcomes in Communication Project (2014). [Read more…] about Dean Shawn Wahl inducted into CSCA Hall of Fame