Seton Hill University associate professor of English Dennis Jerz, Ph.D., was recognized with the John Lovas Memorial Weblog Award for the Best Academic Weblog from the rhetoric journal Kairos at the 2009 Computers and Writing Conference which was held at the University of California June 18-21.

According to Kairos, “The John Lovas Weblog recognized this year has been a resource for writing teachers for most of this decade. This blog offers a glimpse into the formative history of blogging in writing. It bridges new media journalism, rhetoric, and composition studies in productive and insightful ways.”

Kairos continued, “Its author [Jerz] was one of the first professors to use blogging in teaching, coining the term ‘forced blogging’ and problematizing its practice. The weblog reflects lively intertextual exchanges with other blogs about gaming, interactive fiction, and digital pedagogy that have large readerships and show how much his bibliographical work is respected. Jerz shows continuing leadership in addressing the potential role of emerging technologies and new media in the teaching of writing and this is regularly reflected in his blog, making his site an excellent resource for those who wish to engage in such challenges.”

“John Lovas was a dedicated teacher, an accomplished administrator, and a patient mentor. I'm honored to be associated with his tremendous achievements. In my blog, I regularly enjoy writing about the future of journalism, the role of video games and other technology in education, and being a teacher and father, ” said Jerz, who began his blog, Jerz’s Literary Weblog (http://jerz.setonhill.edu/weblog/), in 1999.

The John Lovas Memorial Weblog is presented annually to the weblog which best meets the following criteria: be at least six months old, be updated regularly, actively engage other academic weblogs, and deal with the kind of issues addressed in Kairos and other journals in computers and writing studies.