Brenda Hoffman, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at the School of Communication and Journalism, received a Stony Brook Excellence in Educational Effectiveness Award.
The award recognizes members of the university community who demonstrate a commitment to best practices in academic assessment and use assessment results to drive programmatic excellence.
“Brenda’s work in assessment goes beyond the tactical aspects of managing processes,” said Laura Lindenfeld, dean of the SoCJ and executive director of the Alda Center for Communicating Science. “Her efforts have led our School to build a new culture, one that asks a question critical to education: What does it mean to foster a genuine learner-centered environment that puts students and their success first?”
Hoffman played an integral role as the School has added new undergraduate and graduate programs in recent years. She helped faculty to identify what skills and knowledge students should gain over the course of their academic work, to articulate those competencies in program learning objectives, and filter those goals into relevant courses and assignments.
“Far from simply commanding change, Dr. Hoffman makes every effort to involve faculty in the assessment process to educate them about changes, and to encourage participation in this important endeavor,” said Dina Brennan, Senior Workshops Coordinator at the Alda Center. “Her complete devotion to creating effective evaluation tools along with her understanding of the importance of faculty buy-in, and her constant support of faculty as they make these changes have made Dr. Hoffman the ideal candidate for this recognition.”
Hoffman also serves on several university committees, including the Accreditation Advisory Group and the General Education Advisory Committee. Recently she served on a working group for Framing the Future: Education for Public Health 2030 through the Association for Schools and Programs of Public Health.
The Excellence in Educational Effectiveness Award was established by the Office of the Provost, the SBU Assessment Council and the Office of Educational Effectiveness in 2022.