Greene named department's first Redding Fellow

By Lauren D. Perry
Journalism junior

The first Charles and Ann Redding Fellowship was awarded this fall to longtime professor John Greene.

John Greene

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John Greene

The Redding Tradition

Charles Redding was a noted professor of organizational communication at Purdue. Upon the death of his wife, Ann Redding, the department received funding for the fellowship, designed to supplement a professor's income.

The fellowship must go to a tenured Purdue faculty member with significant creative endeavors in the past and potential for the future, with emphasis on productivity and impact in the last five years, according to the department's Faculty Affairs committee.

Greene, a Purdue alumnus, has a wide spectrum of research. He has taught at Purdue for 18 years, and was recognized as being among the most frequently cited authors in communication by the journal "Human Communication Research" in 1996. His prolific research record has been recognized nationally with such prestigious awards as the National Communication Association's Charles H. Woolbert Research Award, which is presented to the author of a journal article or book chapter that "has stood the test of time and become the stimulus for new conceptualizations of speech communication phenomena," and the Gerald R. Miller Book Award, which recognizes significant contributions to scholarship in interpersonal communication.

Greene said he would be hard-pressed to say why the Faculty Affairs committee chose him, and said the fellowship could have gone to several other fine researchers. Greene knew Charles Redding and feels honored to be the first recipient.

"I doubt it was a single achievement but a record of sustained scholarly achievement," said Greene.

Greene obtained his bachelor's from Purdue and his master's from Pennsylvania State. He received his doctorate from the University of Wisconsin. He taught at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, but the majority of his career has been spent at Purdue.

The fellowship is for two years, ending on June 30 of the second year. Funds will be given as a summer salary. Greene said he will be able to do more research and not teach the Maymester with the monies given him.

Greene tells his students that he has the best job in the world. He is still fascinated by his work after 25 years.

"Most people wake up Monday morning and say 'I have to go to work'," said Greene. "When I wake up on Monday, I say, 'I get to go to work.' "