Dr. Lillian Lodge Kopenhaver, dean emeritus and founder and executive director of the FIU Lillian Lodge Kopenhaver Center for the Advancement of Women in Communication (Kopenhaver Center) received the 2020 Lifetime Service Award from Rowan University.
Dr. Kopenhaver graduated from Rowan University – formerly known as Glassboro State College – in 1962 and made a career out of advocating for student press and women in communication and media.
In 2013, she founded the Kopenhaver Center at FIU to mentor the next generation of young scholars and professionals as they build careers in mass communication.
Her Lifetime Service Award from Rowan University recognizes former graduates who have demonstrated a lifetime of dedication and significant service to the university and the community.
“I’ve come full circle back to the campus I left so long ago, and I am inspired by the work that our satellite, the Rowan Center for the Advancement of Women in Communication, is already doing since its establishment last October,” Dr. Kopenhaver says. “Rowan gave me my start on my chosen career path, so I’m proud to be able to give back to my alma mater, so others can have successful careers and achieve their dreams, just as I did mine. This award validates the journey I have been on, and I am tremendously honored by being recognized by Rowan University for the work that I have loved doing.”
In October 2020, Dr. Kopenhaver opened the first satellite Kopenhaver Center at Rowan University. The center works collaboratively across its campuses and throughout the country to foster advancements for women working in all fields of communication – both in academia and in the industry. In February 2021, she launched the second Kopenhaver affiliate satellite center at Stephens College in Missouri.
Throughout her career, Dr. Kopenhaver has received numerous other awards, including the FIU Torch Award for Outstanding Faculty Member, the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication’s (AEJMC) Outstanding Woman in Journalism and Mass Communication Education Award and Distinguished Service Award and Rowan University’s Distinguished Alumnus Award.
Learn more about Dr. Kopenhaver, the Kopenhaver Center and its affiliates.
