Ridolfo Wins Another Prestigious Writing, Research Award

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Feb. 8, 2017) — University of Kentucky Associate Professor Jim Ridolfo has won the 2017 Conference on College Composition and Communication (CCCC) Research Impact Award for his book, “Digital Samaritans: Rhetorical Delivery and Engagement in the Digital Humanities,” published by University of Michigan Press. The CCCC is a constituent organization within the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE).

The award honors an empirical research publication in the previous two years that most advances the mission of the organization or the needs of the profession.

Ridolfo is the director of composition in the UK College of Arts and Sciences Department of Writing, Rhetoric and Digital Studies. He is also strongly affiliated with the Jewish Studies Program in the college. Two years ago, he was awarded the National Council of Teachers of English Richard Ohman Award, which recognizes excellent scholarship in the field of rhetoric. Last year, Ridolfo’s edited collection “Rhetoric and the Digital Humanities” (co-edited with William Hart-Davidson and published by University of Chicago Press) received the Computers and Composition Distinguished Book Award.

The CCCC Research Impact Award’s selection committee shared this statement: “The committee recognizes this work for its contribution to moving the field forward. The book takes advantage of the affordances of both digital distribution and multi-modal composition, offering effective new modes of scholarly communication. Ridolfo's method infuses his presentation and argument, in that his argument that these texts should be made accessible is manifest in his presentation of them.

“The book needs to be digital — it isn't simply a digitized version of a print text, but an argument that is persuasive because of its taking advantage of the unique opportunities presented by its being digital. In addition, the triangulation of Ridolfo’s readings of the manuscripts, of their situations, and of interviews with key scholars offers rich insights into ‘consider[ing] the rhetorical impact of communicating texts as they relate to the desired goals or objectives of cultural stakeholders.’”

Ridolfo will be announced as a recipient of the CCCC Research Impact Award on March 17, during the 2017 CCCC Annual Convention in Portland, Oregon.

For more information about the CCCC Research Impact Award, including past winners, see www.ncte.org/cccc/awards/researchimpact.

The Conference on College Composition and Communication, with more than 5,000 members and subscribers, supports and promotes the teaching and study of composition, rhetoric and communication skills at the college level, both in undergraduate and graduate programs. College Composition and Communication is the group’s journal. For more information, visit www.ncte.org/cccc.

The National Council of Teachers of English, with 35,000 individual and institutional members worldwide, is dedicated to improving the teaching and learning of English and the language arts at all levels of education. For more information, visit www.ncte.org.