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Professor Jacqueline Marino is a 2019 recipient of ������'s highest teaching honor, the Distinguished Teaching Award (DTA). 

Dating back more than 50 years and sponsored by the ������ Alumni Association, the DTA is presented annually to three full-time faculty members who demonstrate extraordinary teaching in the classroom and a devotion to touching the lives of students. The Alumni Association surprised Professor Marino with the news during her Feature Writing class on Oct. 15, 2019.

"I am so moved," Professor Marino said as she was presented with balloons and an in-class celebration. "I have wanted to win this award since I started teaching here. ... I am stunned."

Professor Marino teaches juniors and seniors in the journalism major, often in project-based classes, and has advised the general interest student-run magazine The Burr for most semesters since 2009. 

"I try to be a relevant, inspirational and knowledgeable professor. It is also important, however, to be human," she said in her teaching statement. "That’s why I hold most dear an observation relayed by Professor Candace Bowen in a peer review written for my promotion file: 'Jacqueline Marino is a thoughtful and caring teacher, a good example of a media pro who has effectively carried her knowledge into the classroom.' In every class, I try to live up to her words."

Senior journalism major Valerie Royzman calls Professor Marino one of her greatest mentors not just in journalism, but in life. 

"Our conversations about finding a unique voice and writing with authority have boosted my confidence," Royzman said. "Jacquie's willingness to share how she grew her writer wings — and how her path to becoming a successful journalist wasn't always perfect — inspires me. When I think of the kind of writer I want to be, I think of Jacquie."

Another student said in a recent course evaluation: “Jacquie is incredibly inspirational. She is so passionate, and her passion is infectious. She really pushed me as a writer and [I] appreciate that. Her assignments and feedback helped me grow.”

Praise for Professor Marino's teaching style is a common theme in these evaluations, with other recent comments including:

• “Jacquie is so full of wisdom and life advice. She’s an incredible writer teaching okay writers to be incredible.”

• “Jacquie has been the most helpful and inspirational professor I’ve had at Kent.”

• “College is about discovering yourself, but this class and Jacquie helped me rediscover myself and my writing.”

Professor Emerita Ann Schierhorn, a former colleague, said Professor Marino's focus on interdisciplinary collaboration, depth and skill in journalistic works and professional publication venues has resulted in her students finding jobs at major media outlets, both locally and nationally.

"The hallmarks of her teaching are excellence and integrity in journalism," Professor Schierhorn said of Professor Marino.

This is the third time this decade that a professor in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication has earned the DTA.