Kory Floyd Wins Prestigious Mark L. Knapp Award in Interpersonal Communication

Kory Floyd, professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Arizona, recently received the 2020 Mark L. Knapp Award in Interpersonal Communication from the National Communication Association, or NCA, which is the largest communication association in the United States.

Given annually, the award honors career contributions to the study of interpersonal communication and recognizes individuals who have made significant scholarly contributions to the study of interaction and/or relational processes.

“NCA’s annual awards honor communication scholars’ teaching, scholarship, and service,” NCA Executive Director Trevor Parry-Giles said. “NCA is proud to recognize Dr. Floyd’s significant contributions to the communication discipline with this award.”

“The Mark L. Knapp Award in Interpersonal Communication is most befitting a scholar of Kory Floyd’s stature,” said Chris Segrin, head of the University of Arizona Department of Communication. “The receipt of this award situates Kory Floyd among the brightest and most influential scholars in the field. His work on affectionate communication and its nonverbal elements harkens back to the groundbreaking research of the award’s namesake. Kory’s program of research and the innovative methods that underwrite that research have made major contributions to the field that have changed the way many people think about relationship processes and their association with human physiology.”

The NCA website noted that Floyd received the award because his work – which includes more than 100 articles and book chapters – has shaped the field of interpersonal communication through both theory and research on affectionate communication, including pioneering work in the biosocial realm.

The selection committee added: “Dr. Floyd has served the discipline in myriad ways, from editorships to serving as an NCA division chair. Dr. Floyd is a generous collaborator and mentor to students and faculty alike, and a role model for public intellectualism.”

“I am fortunate to have had so many great students and colleagues over the years with whom to pursue my research on affectionate communication,” Floyd said. “Because this award recognizes that body of work, it belongs to those collaborators as much as to me.”

Floyd’s award will be presented virtually on November 21 at the NCA 106th Annual Convention.