Rachael Record receives the 2024-25 Senate Excellence in Teaching Award
Students and colleagues reflect on Record’s accomplishments, mentorship, and dedication to high-impact teaching at SDSU.
Rachael Record, professor at the San Diego State University School of Communication has been awarded the 2024-25 Senate Excellence in Teaching Award, a prestigious achievement given to one professor every academic year.
The award recognizes a faculty member for contributions made to students, respective academic disciplines, and campus communities. The primary criterion is teaching excellence, and the awardee receives the title of Senate Distinguished Professor and an honorarium. The University Senate is a policymaking body with faculty, staff and students members, and is part of the system of shared governance at SDSU.
Record “is just a down-to-earth, humble person whose brilliance comes through in all that she does, but she is never one to shine the light on herself about her brilliance,” said Heather Canary, director of the School of Communication. “It’s my joy as her director, her colleague, and her friend to shine the light on her brilliance so others can see it too.”
Record “has a really unique blend of being extremely insightful and rigorous in her scholarly work, as well as very approachable and open in her teaching and her mentoring of students,” Canary added. “She has a way of guiding her students into becoming rigorous scholars, practitioners, and lifelong learners.”
Record mentors undergraduate and graduate students on their theses, comprehensive exams, and papers, and runs an apprenticeship program in the School of Communication designed to train undergraduate students on the team research enterprise.
“SDSU instructors are fortunate to be in a place where we get to teach such driven and passionate students,” Record said. “This is a campus full of dedicated, caring, and effective instructors. I am honored to be recognized by our students and among such an incredible pool of colleagues.”
Record mentored Toby Sandoz, a communication master’s student who previously was an undergraduate student in one of her classes, through the school’s Research Apprentice Program (RAP). Under her guidance, Sandoz has worked as a research assistant at the SDSU Research Foundation.
Record’s “encouragement in the classroom and support in my academic pursuits has been invaluable in both my undergraduate studies, as well as my transition into graduate school,” Sandoz said.
School of Communication Professor Matthew Savage said Record’s commitment to educational excellence, mentorship, and inclusivity “have made her a transformative force in the lives of countless students.”
“Dr. Record’s teaching effectiveness is evident in her dynamic, student-centered approach,” said Savage. “She continually creates learning experiences that are both intellectually rigorous and relevant to real-world applications.”
In his letter of support for Record’s nomination, Savage highlighted how Record’s teaching often gives back to marginalized communities, such as when she led her COMM 421 students in organizing the Run for Dignity 5K for Fulfilling Destiny, a nonprofit supporting women experiencing homelessness.
Isabel Villegas-Glang, a master’s student in communication at SDSU, first met Record through the RAP program. Villegas-Glang was on the fence about continuing her education to obtain a graduate degree but said Record encouraged the students in the program to apply and was confident in their skills and abilities.
“Because of her, I applied to a program I had no confidence in being accepted into, yet.
“I still was,” Villegas-Glang said. “Dr. Record showed me that despite what I may think of myself and my abilities, I am much brighter, more capable, and more determined than I think I am.
“Her dedication and support changed my life. It is so evident that she deserves such highly praised recognition for the work she does for her students, the School of Communication, and the San Diego community.”
