Ryan Neville-Shepard, vice chair and associate professor in the Department of Communication in the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, has been named the 2025 recipient of the J. Donald Ragsdale Award for Mentoring from the Southern States Communication Association. The Ragsdale Award honors one member of the association each year for demonstrating outstanding achievement in mentoring students and junior scholars.

Neville-Shepard joined the U of A in 2016 and has taught undergraduate and graduate courses primarily in political communication, presidential rhetoric, rhetorical theory and criticism, and argumentation. For his work as graduate director in the M.A. program in the Department of Communication, Neville-Shepard has been previously recognized with the Outstanding Mentor in Master's Education Award by the National Communication Association, as well as Fulbright College's Nolan Faculty Award.

Matt Spialek, chair of the Department of Communication and a previous winner of the Ragsdale Award, nominated Neville-Shepard and praised his work mentoring students especially in research. Spialek notes that Neville-Shepard frequently advises undergraduate honors theses and M.A. theses, and his students regularly go on to some of the most prestigious graduate programs in the country. Spialek adds, "Dr. Neville-Shepard's advisees also win top paper awards at conferences, top research awards at the university and various national honors." As he summarizes, "What impresses me most is that he is deeply committed to the success of those junior scholars around him. He is always nominating students for awards, co-authoring, offering to help revise papers and even bringing students to their first conferences."

Second-year M.A. student Amy Whiteside writes in a letter of support, "Dr. Neville-Shepard has opened doors for me that I did not know existed." Praising his mentorship that started when she was an undergraduate student, she adds, "He introduced me to the world of academic conferences, pushed me to prepare submissions and encouraged me through challenging reviews without missing a beat." Whiteside summarizes, "His enthusiasm for academia is infectious; I walk away from every interaction with him feeling invigorated and motivated."

Neville-Shepard was honored at an award reception on April 5, 2025, during the annual convention of the Southern States Communication Association in Norfolk, Virginia.