Public relations instructor Kathryn Kuttis and the University of Oregon’s School of Journalism and Communication were selected for the Daily Emerald's “Best of Campus” list for the third consecutive year.

The paper’s annual “Best of Campus” edition allows votes for numerous categories of student life, ranging from food and entertainment venues to majors and study locations.

Each Jan. 31, the paper publishes an online form where students can vote for their favorites, including “best professor,” which is a write-in-only category. Votes are tallied at the end of February and winners announced soon after.

With her back-to-back selections as “best professor,” Kuttis adds to the SOJC’s three-year streak in the category, a pattern she attributes to the school’s ability to adapt to the rapidly evolving communication industries and to give students the experience and skills to succeed in the professional world.

Before starting her tenure at the SOJC in 2013, Kuttis worked as a vice president at Edelman Public Relations in New York. She received her master’s degree in landscape architecture from the UO. Her love for visual information and design greatly influences her teaching strategies, and her success in the PR profession demonstrates that visual communication has the ability to capture an audience and help people understand and connect with a message.

“We are teaching students how to speak to an audience in a way that is going to stick, and they are finding success out in the world doing that,” said Kuttis.

Helping students make the transition from college to professional communication is one of many goals Kuttis maintains for her instructional methods.

“A lot of the work that I do is hoping to make that connection between where students’ talents are and helping them identify their potential, to lead them to a career that will be fulfilling and contribute to the greater society.”

Kuttis said she regularly receives thank-you notes from former students, some of whom have found jobs working with Nike, Adidas and Starbucks, among others. She says that hearing back from graduates and the working environment within Allen Hall are the best parts of her job.

“It’s an honor to be among the UO faculty, and particularly in the SOJC,” said Kuttis. “There is such a level of excitement and energy here.”