By: Emily Delgado  

University of Iowa School of Journalism and Mass Communication faculty member Rachel Young was named the 2022 Scripps Howard Teacher of the Year. Young will receive the award at the annual conference of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication in August.  

This national award recognizes excellence in teaching across several areas. Only one award is presented each year.  

“There are so many dedicated and innovative instructors working at journalism schools. It means a lot to be recognized among such great colleagues,” Young says. 

At Iowa, Young serves as director of undergraduate studies for the journalism school and teaches introductory and advanced journalism and strategic communication courses. Her courses often use community partnerships to teach strategic communication skills. In 2021, she developed the Coralville Media Collaborative, which pairs students and faculty with Coralville, Iowa, community organizations to create media and communications plans. 

“Students have to investigate social issues like health care, immigration, or food insecurity so they can create the best possible work for our clients, who are often small nonprofit organizations that do amazing work to serve the community,” Young explains.  

Prior to teaching at the UI, Young was a health science writer and editor for more than a decade. Using her past professional experience, she prioritizes teaching her students how to analyze the effects of media and how it plays a role in societal issues.  

“In journalism schools, we’re preparing students for rapidly changing media careers in a diverse and complex world. It’s important that students learn media skills but also how to apply those skills to real-world issues and contexts that may be beyond their personal experience,” Young adds. 

In addition to teaching future storytellers at the UI, Young researches how media impacts health. She says her background as a reporter has helped her as a researcher and motivator for her students.  

“Journalism and academic research require you to ask good questions and to be curious, creative, persistent, and self-aware when finding answers. I find that when you can relate research to issues that students really care about, then they naturally want to go deeper,” she says.  

Young hopes this award will shine a light on the UI School of Journalism and Mass Communication. 

“Our faculty provide our students with excellent preparation for media careers, and they’re also truly committed to seeing students as whole people,” Young says. “I could not ask for a better group of faculty and staff to work with."