Dr. Maxian: Teacher of the Year
April 11, 2024 |
“I am deeply honored that someone in the Xavier community felt my teaching deserved a nomination. Teaching students is the best part of my job. Being selected from among my peers, who are also excellent, dedicated, teachers is humbling. I thank them and my students for inspiring and motivating me,” shared Dr. Wendy Maxian, an associate professor in the communication department who has been recognized as a Teacher of the Year for the 2023-2024 academic year. The award recognizes one tenured faculty member and one senior teaching professor for excellence in teaching that is aligned with Ignatian pedagogical principles. Dr. Maxian, along with Senior Teaching Professor Kelly Austin in the English Department, were selected for the award from a pool of 82 nominations.
Before her career at Xavier, Dr. Maxian received her Ph.D. from Texas Tech University, her M.A. from Cleveland State, and her B.A. from John Carroll University. When Dr. Maxian joined the faculty at Xavier in 2009, one of the main reasons that she chose Xavier was the university’s emphasis on social justice. She works on sharing this part of Xavier’s mission in the classroom by using community-engaged learning experiences for her students. Communication chair, Dr. Thomas Wagner shared, “Dr. Maxian’s award is a great honor for her and the communication department. We are thankful for the excellent teaching and care Dr. Maxian gives to her students. [She] is a highly successful teacher because of her focus on student needs and a commitment to enacting Ignatian Pedagogy.”
In the classroom, Maxian teaches classes in public relations, media writing, and advertising. Her primary research interest is media psychology, which studies how individuals connect with the media they consume. She highly encourages students to join in on the psychophysiology lab that she manages. While being a professor, Maxian also advises students when it comes to academics and future classes. Ryan Vespalec is an advertising major who has the honor to be an advisee of Dr. Maxian. He shares that he has experienced both her teaching and her knowledge when it comes to academic advice. Ryan says, “Though dealing with numbers posed a challenge to my COMM major brain, [Dr. Maxian] made studying the research component of communication both fun and applicable to real-world situations. She has also been a tremendous help in navigating the insanity of internships and class planning, which I am very grateful for.” He adds, “if every professor was like Dr. Maxian, the world would be a better place.”
Dr. Maxian will be publicly recognized for this award at Xavier’s Academic Honors Celebration and during the Commencement ceremonies held in May.
Communication Department Faculty at the 2023 commencement.
