The CMA award is particularly prestigious because the pool of applicants is so large. Broadcast advisers from hundreds of colleges and universities apply. These applications roll over every year, making the list of applicants larger every year.

Department of Communication Chair Dr. Larry Long expressed his pleasure with the honor: “The fact that Deb Lesser won the first time she was nominated is testimony to her list of accomplishments in radio advising at Illinois State. We are very lucky to have someone of her reputation on our faculty.”

Lesser has been on the Communication faculty for almost 20 years, teaching courses in radio, designing radio curriculum, coordinating the department’s internship program, advising students, and directing WZND radio. Under her direction, WZND has been ranked consistently among the top three university radio stations in the nation. She was named University Adviser of the Year and received an Illinois State Distinguished Service Award in 2000, and she was awarded the Founders’ Day Teaching Initiative Award in 2004.

Lesser is pleased to receive the CMA award and cites her students as the primary reason for the honor: “I have the distinct privilege of teaching outstanding broadcast students at Illinois State University. Our radio students at WZND are bright, dedicated, and enthusiastic. This award is really a credit to them.”

Lesser will receive her award at a ceremony during the annual College Media Advisers convention in Nashville on November 1-4, 2004.