Professor Wins Outstanding Educator of the Year Award

Mark Congdon, Jr., encourages students to enact social change through initiatives, volunteerism

Sacred Heart University faculty member Mark Congdon, Jr., recently won the 2022 Social Impact Diversity Leader Outstanding Educator of the Year Award, presented by PRNews, for his influential work with students.

The Social Impact Awards from PRNews honor communicators who use their platforms to better their local community and the global community at large. According to its website, “winners are the campaigns, initiatives, professionals, teams, rising stars and lifetime pioneers that help usher in a diverse, equitable future, [and] redefine organizations’ role in the fight for global change.”

Congdon, assistant professor of communication studies, heard of the award from a former colleague last fall. After submitting an application and letters of support from SHU faculty and students, Congdon learned he was a finalist.

“I was really excited, but I didn’t think I would win,” Congdon said. “All of the other professionals nominated had done some really amazing work.”

In April, at the awards ceremony in Arlington, VA, Congdon was overjoyed when he was named winner in his category. “It was really unexpected and exciting,” he said. Congdon dedicated the award to his students, telling the audience, “This is for the students who, without their dedication and commitment to advancing social justice in our community, I wouldn’t be here.”

Winning the award shines a light on his students and the work they’ve done. “If students aren’t engaged or interested, I wouldn’t have made an impact,” Congdon said.

“As a department, we are thrilled that Dr. Congdon’s efforts in the classroom are being recognized,” said Lori Bindig Yousman, associate professor and chair of the department of communication studies. “The department of communication studies and School of Communication, Media & the Arts as a whole are deeply committed to fostering creative and ethical leaders who make a difference in the world, which aligns with the purpose of PRNews’s Social Impact Awards. The award highlights Dr. Congdon’s own role in bettering local and global communities, as well as his dedication to cultivating socially conscious and engaged communicators in the classroom.”

Congdon joined the communication studies program in the School of Communication, Media & the Arts in 2020, and he wasted no time in getting students involved and making a difference. Students in Congdon’s public relations and advertising campaign class started Uniting Hearts, an initiative that aims to bring people together.

“Uniting Hearts is more of a movement,” Congdon said.

Each semester, students in his course focus on a new social issue topic for their initiative. During Uniting Hearts’ inaugural year, it concentrated on celebrating people’s differences through allyship. Discussion focused on fostering dialogue about becoming better allies. Events were broken down into themes―educate, motivate and participate―with goals to bring people together, challenge systemic ideologies and acknowledge need for change. Through the initiative, students worked with other campus offices and clubs such as the multicultural center and volunteer programs & service learning to host lectures, talks and social gatherings.

“The Uniting Hearts campaign enables students to learn about strategic communication, public relations and advertising while directly engaging in positive social change, which ultimately embraces and exemplifies the mission of Sacred Heart University,” Bindig Yousman said. “Students leave his classes with a deeper understanding of strategic communication, public relations and advertising, as well as a greater awareness of the profound social responsibilities that come with being a communication and media professional.”

Last fall, the group’s focus was financial literacy. Discussions centered on how to become more financially responsible. This April, the group launched a campus-wide campaign promoting diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging, to increase cultural awareness on SHU’s campus and in the local community. The initiative fostered dialogue about how to become culturally competent, learn how to have difficult conversations around issues of difference and encourage action on those ideas.

As a member of the LGBTQ+ community and disability community who was bullied during his childhood, Congdon understands the importance of the initiative and the power it has. He wants students to learn and evolve from the conversations they have with one another and understand the power communication can have with creating positive social change.

“Being in higher education, there’s a moral obligation to work with the community to enact social justice and social change,” Congdon said.

Last month, Congdon and a group of students and faculty from his department also participated in a charity kickball game, raising over $300. Proceeds benefited the Bridgeport Public Education Fund, a nonprofit dedicated to educational equity, focused on preparing Bridgeport public high school students for college.

Aside from helping the SHU community and its nearby partners, Congdon does work for U.S.-El Salvador Sister Cities, a nonprofit dedicated to creating a cultural-economic model of relationships between the United States and El Salvador based on social justice, solidarity and empowerment.

Giving back and volunteering has always been important to Congdon. As someone who is passionate about education and communication, he enjoys connecting with people, learning and telling their stories, and creating meaningful change.

“We’re able to bring awareness and change injustices through our work,” he said.