Phokeng Dailey
Sherwood Dodge Shankland Award for Encouragement of Teachers (2023)
2023 Commencement Ceremony Excerpt
Since coming to OWU, Dr. Phokeng Dailey has distinguished herself in the areas of teaching, scholarship, and service and has truly made our campus a better place. Her knowledge of the field of health communication is demonstrated by her scholarly work on public health messaging as it pertains to racial identity. She had an integral role in the development of the Communication major and more recently our new Public Health major.
Dr. Dailey has played a crucial role in creating a culture of belonging on our campus and is especially passionate about creating pathways for historically minoritized students to fully engage in every aspect of their undergraduate education. She co-leads a travel learning course in Southern Africa, OWU’s Summer Bridge Program, and co-created the now annual Global Majority Block Party. Her students describe her as someone who challenges them to think deeply and engage in critical thinking and as a person who will ask more of you because she knows what they are capable of.
In 2022, she was awarded the Bishop Francis Kearns Award for outstanding scholarship, service, and leadership. She is truly an inspiring educator who reflects the values espoused by Ohio Wesleyan University.