At the end of each school year, a group of outstanding faculty members from across Temple University are honored for their commitment to their students, their school and the university. This year, Klein College of Media and Communication is proud to have the following four professors earn recognition 

• Associate Professor of Instruction in Media Studies and Production Laura Zaylea,
• Adjunct Assistant Professor in Advertising and Public Relations Tricia Richards-Service,
• Assistant Professor of Instruction in Advertising and Public Relations Bill Cook, KLN ’10, and
• Assistant Professor of Instruction in Communication and Social Influence Quaiser Abdullah, CLA ’03, EDU ’07 ‘17.

Laura Zaylea: Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching

The Christian R. and Mary F. Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching recognizes faculty members for their consistent teaching excellence. Zaylea has been a dedicated member of the Klein College faculty since 2012 and in that time, she has developed a pedagogy based in experiential learning and risk taking.  

Zaylea has taught a variety of courses in her 12 years at Temple. From large lectures to practicums and even classes abroad in Ireland, she is always thinking about how to best use technology to enhance students’ experience in her courses. 

“I just feel really grateful to be able to have these different teaching experiences,” Zaylea said. 

In a class like MSP 4741: Emergent Media Production, Zaylea introduces her students to the new technologies that are emerging in the industry. Currently, she and her students use augmented reality and immersive video production to tell stories. Though these technologies can be intimidating and overwhelming, Zaylea encourages her students to experiment and try things out, and she is always amazed by the results. 

Another tenant of Zaylea’s pedagogy is collaboration, both within and across classes. In MSP 4701: Producing and Directing, students produce the scripts that were created by their peers in MSP 4796: Creative Scriptwriting. Though the script is written, students must work together to bring the vision to life in practical yet creative ways. 

Outside of teaching, Zaylea works on her own films that show at the University Film and Video Association. “I feel like for me, making creative projects helps me understand and relate to what my students go through,” she said. 

Zaylea’s dedication to her own pedagogy led her to participate in the Provost’s Teaching Academy in 2019. Now, she serves as a mentor and teaches a course in the College of Education and Human Development’s teaching in higher education certificate. Zaylea loves that she gets to help teachers become teachers. 

Tricia Richards-Service: Part-Time Faculty Excellence in Teaching and Instruction Award

The Part-Time Faculty Excellence in Teaching and Instruction Award recognizes three part-time faculty members each year for their pedagogy, reflective teaching and dedication to the professional development of their students. 

“To be recognized and acknowledged in a sea of people like that is pretty wonderful for me,” Richards-Service said. She noted that since coming to Temple in 2020, she has been keenly aware of the talent and accomplishments of other professors and has often aspired to be recognized in this way.

Regardless of whether she is teaching online or in-person, Richard-Service’s approach to teaching is to serve as a guide for her students. She strives to help them solve problems and think critically, rather than giving them answers. By looking at them as the emerging professionals they are, Richards-Service hopes her students will enter the work force ready to be a fully contributing member of a team. 

Richards-Service started teaching at Temple during a rather unique time: classes were being taught mostly online, less students were on campus and a lot of young people were struggling with feelings of anxiety and depression. 

Knowing that to perform our best we must take care of ourselves, Richards-Service decided to take a small percentage of students’ grades and link it to self-care goals. At the beginning of the course, students set three goals related to self-care. At the end of the course, they write a reflection paper on their progress or experience dedicating time to those goals.

Those papers, Richards-Service said, sometimes bring her to tears. She loves reading how students embrace the challenge and feel better because of it. As a bonus, she noticed that grade improvements tend to be in lockstep with improvements in mental health. 

Richards-Service is also dedicated to incorporating diverse perspectives and experiences into all parts of her courses. She noted that she has an especially soft spot for the first-generation college students in her classes, being one herself. 

Though Richards-Service lives quite far away in Northeastern Pennsylvania, Temple feels like home to her. She even asked for a special cherry and white ring for her birthday last year that she wore to the ceremony where she accepted her award.

Bill Cook: Faculty Senate Service Award 

Each year, the Temple Faculty Senate recognizes meritorious faculty service by awarding several Faculty Senate Service Awards to faculty who go above and beyond in serving their schools, the university and the community. 

“For me, it’s really important to be visible, not just within Klein College but throughout the university,” Cook said. He likes to think of his service falling into three levels: departmental, collegial and university.

At the departmental level, Cook serves as the assistant department chair to Associate Professor Kathy Mueller. He is responsible for scheduling all advertising courses for fall, spring and summer semesters and often represents the department at events such as Experience Temple Day. 

At the collegial level, Cook is finishing his first of three years as the secretary of Klein Faculty Council and has served on several committees since joining the faculty in 2014. 

At the university level, Cook has been a staunch advocate for bringing general education (GenEd) courses back to the advertising department. He has taken time to get to know the GenEd department team and recently wrapped up a year of serving on the GenEd Reorganization Committee. Due to his hard work and his piloting of ADV 0853: Advertising & Globalization at Temple’s Harrisburg campus, the department now offers several sections of the course on Main Campus each semester.  

In addition to being an advocate for GenEds in Klein College, Cook loves teaching ADV 1101: Introduction to Media & Society and other introductory courses because when he started at Temple as a marketing major, it was ADV 1101 that made him realize that Klein College and the advertising department were the right place for him. 

Cook is honored and humbled to accept this award and encourages other faculty members to get involved outside of their department or college. 

Quaiser Abdullah: Faculty Senate Outstanding Faculty Service Award 

In addition to the Faculty Senate Service Award, the same body also recognizes a few faculty members with the Outstanding Faculty Service Award for dedicated, long-term service to their school, the university and the community. 

Abdullah is a trained mediator and conflict coach and brings his expertise to courses such as CSI 1401: Conflict and Communication Behavior and CSI 2401: Intercultural and Cross Cultural Conflict. In addition to his work in the communication and social influence department, Abdullah is the director of the master of science in communication management program. 

At the university level, Abdullah is serving his second term as Klein College’s representative to the Faculty Senate Steering Committee. He is also the faculty council member for both the Center for Anti-Racism and the Temple Interfaith Council. 

Outside of his teaching responsibilities, Abdullah is an Imam at the Masjid Quba mosque in West Philadelphia and was recently named the city’s first director of Muslim engagement by Mayor Cherelle Parker. 

“I’ve had the privilege of knowing Dr. Abdullah in the classroom and outside of it as we both share dual roles of professors and members of the faith community in the city," wrote Assistant Dean of Community and Communication David W. Brown. "This recognition is well deserved as it reflects his commitment to bringing his authentic self to all he does to uplift his students and the Temple community as a whole."