Tracy Russo, an assistant professor of communications, is the latest Kansas University faculty member to receive a $5,000 Kemper Award.

Russo was surprised with the award on Tuesday night while she was teaching a class at KU’s Edwards Campus in Overland Park.

She is the 18th person to receive one of the awards since the KU academic year began. In all, 20 professors will be honored and $100,000 will be distributed with the awards by Sept. 15.

The awards were established by a $500,000 fund from the William T. Kemper Foundation-Commerce Bank, Trustee, and $500,000 in matching funds from the KU Endowment Association.

Russo researches the relationship between instructors and students in online classes.

She received her doctoral degree in communication studies from KU in 1995, the same year she joined the faculty. She is also director of the Edwards Campus Graduate Program in Communication Studies.