Awards

Lieber Memorial Associate Instructor Award - 2002

About Alena Amato Ruggerio

Alena Amato Ruggerio received his B.S.C. in Honors Tutorial College from Ohio University in 1996. She then earned her M.A. in Interpersonal Communication from Ohio University in 1997, and her Ph.D. in Communication and Culture from Indiana University in 2004.

Ruggerio is an Associate Professor of Human Communication at Southern Oregon University. She teaches and writes about the study of rhetoric, the way humans create and share meaning through the exchange of symbols. A lifetime member of the National Communication Association, her research interests lie at the crossroads where rhetoric, religion, and feminism meet. She has received the AHA International Outstanding Faculty of the Year award and the Frances A. Lieber Associate Instructor award for teaching. At Southern Oregon University, she has served as the Interim Coordinator of Women’s Studies, and as an officer on the Advisory Council of Faculty Senate. She is involved in EEWC, an organization of Christian feminists, serving on the Council over the years as Coordinator, Secretary, and Representative, and working as a guest editor and assistant to the editor of the magazine Christian Feminism Today. In her spare time, Alena enjoys taking road trips with her husband Bradley, listening to podcasts and audiobooks, and polishing her collection of rhinestone tiaras.