Dr. Janet D. Kwami, associate professor of Communication Studies, is Furman University’s 2021 SCICU Excellence in Teaching award recipient. She holds a Ph.D. in Communication and Society from the University of Oregon. Kwami earned an M. Phil. in Communication from the University of Ghana and a B.A in Publishing Studies from the University of Science and Technology in Ghana. Kwami joined Furman’s faculty in 2009.
Kwami teaches in the areas of media studies and digital communication technologies. Her courses include Media and Society, Digital Storytelling, International Communication, Advanced Multimedia Storytelling, Lenses on Africa, Media Criticism, Mass Media Research Methods, and Student ePortfolio Workshop.
Kwami is known as a professor who demands excellence and her high-impact teaching strategies support her students in meeting the standards she sets. Engaging discussions, creative assignments, extensive feedback and encouragement are among her signature teaching strategies. Evidence of her teaching success is seen in the selection of her students’ original research for presentation at state, national and international conferences, and she works diligently to prepare students for these presentations. Notably, Kwami’s students have presented three times at the International Association for Media and Communication Research meeting and were the only undergraduate presenters at the conference. In 2017, her excellence in teaching was recognized with Furman’s Meritorious Teaching Award.
Kwami has been instrumental in innovating and expanding her department’s curriculum. She developed a new Study-Away Program to Ghana and created multiple new courses including the department’s first client-based course. This upper-level course introduced a professional component to the department’s curriculum and bridged students’ academic learning with career competencies. Kwami mentors many international students and is the founding advisor to Baba Africa, the African student society. She is known for her kindness and hospitality.
Kwami’s areas of research include Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), International Communication, Communication for Social Change, and Media and African Diaspora.