USC Dornsife honors 2025 Communicators of the Year
The annual Communicator of the Year awards honor scholars at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences who share their expertise to help the public better understand important issues and elevate civic and cultural discourse.
This year’s honorees explored topics ranging from war and global politics to climate change, coral reefs, artificial intelligence, literature and mysterious microbial life deep beneath Earth’s surface.
Humanities: David Ulin
David Ulin, professor of the practice of English, was recognized for his extensive contributions to public literary and cultural discourse.
Last year, Ulin published essays and commentary in outlets including The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, The Atlantic and Alta, while also helping bring acclaimed writers and thinkers to USC through the Los Angeles Institute for the Humanities.
Following L.A.’s devastating wildfires, Ulin’s essays helped readers grapple not only with the destruction itself, but with its broader emotional and cultural implications. He also continued championing literature and public dialogue through lectures, interviews, panel discussions and the English department’s literary journal Air/Light.
Social Sciences: Robert English
Robert English, associate professor of international relations, environmental studies, and Slavic languages and literatures, has become one of USC Dornsife’s most visible public experts on global affairs in 2025.
As conflicts involving Russia, Ukraine and NATO dominated international headlines, English gave more than 100 interviews last year, appearing on CNN, BBC, NBC and broadcasters across Europe, Asia and the Middle East as well as local media.
Known for bringing historical perspective and calm analysis to politically charged issues, English helped audiences better understand some of the world’s most complex geopolitical developments while elevating USC Dornsife’s profile on the international stage.
Math and Physical Sciences: Karen Lloyd
Karen Lloyd, Wrigley Chair in Environmental Studies and professor of Earth sciences, was honored for helping broad audiences better understand one of Earth’s strangest and least understood ecosystems: microbial life deep beneath the planet’s surface.
Her acclaimed 2025 book, Intraterrestrials, received praise from publications including Nature, New Scientist and Popular Science, and became a Wall Street Journal holiday gift guide selection.
In addition to interviews, podcasts and public talks around the world, Lloyd engaged audiences through a Dornsife Dialogue and a Reddit AMA. Her work has helped transform highly specialized science into stories that are accessible, adventurous and full of wonder.
Life Sciences: Carly Kenkel
Carly Kenkel, associate professor of biological sciences and Wilford and Daris Zinsmeyer Early Career Chair in Marine Studies, was recognized for her extensive public engagement surrounding climate change, coral reefs and conservation.
Last year, as two iconic reef-building coral species were declared functionally extinct across Florida’s reefs, Kenkel helped audiences understand the ecological urgency and broader implications of coral loss through interviews, public talks, social media, videos and articles for general audiences.
In addition to communicating science directly to the public, Kenkel has mentored students and young researchers in science communication, helping train the next generation of public-facing scholars.
PhD Student: Jackson Trager
Jackson Trager, a PhD candidate in psychology, was honored for thoughtful public scholarship exploring artificial intelligence, morality, policing and wealth inequality.
His widely read article for The Conversation examining public attitudes toward extreme wealth was republished dozens of times and sparked interviews and broader public discussion. He also emerged as a thoughtful public voice on artificial intelligence, helping audiences better understand both its promise and its limitations in areas ranging from policing to moral reasoning.
Trager was recognized not only for the reach of his work, but for his ability to communicate politically sensitive topics with nuance, clarity and intellectual humility while engaging journalists, policymakers and public audiences alike.