Excellence in Teaching

Krystyna Aune

Krystyna Aune is an associate professor in the UH Manoa Department of Speech. Her goal as a university professor is to stimulate students’ interest in the content area of the courses she is teaching, and more broadly, in the field of communication.

Aune believes that the content covered in her classes—persuasion, message processing and relationship management—is fundamental to students’ lives in every respect. Students learn because she has a way of relating personal examples and anecdotes to vividly illustrate abstract ideas to make them accessible, understandable and relevant to everyday experiences.

A student writes, "She has a very dynamic personality that is exuded both inside and outside of the classroom, as reflected in her great enthusiasm and passion in talking about speech communication." A number of Aune’s undergraduate students have decided to pursue master’s degrees in the department and several are now doctorate students in prestigious programs across the country.